Poison and Wine
by HailHathNoFury
Summary: Winnie was always helping people, no matter their difficult situations or the danger it could put her in, but she may have gone too far when the notorious Devil of Hell's Kitchen ends up at her door. Can she handle Daredevil, or will playing with fire finally get her burned? And who exactly is the charismatic lawyer Matt Murdock, who won't seem to take no for an answer? (Matt/OC)
1. Chapter 1 - When The Day Met The Night

**Hello, readers and welcome to my first story (to be posted) on fanfiction! I'm really excited about this one since I won't be following the tv series (at least in the beginning, season 2 may or may not come into play later). I am a _huge_ Marvel fan and have dabbled in a few different ideas before, but Daredevil (and Matt Murdock) kind of just stole my heart away. This story will be taking place right after the end of season one, within a month of Fisk's downfall. If you happen to see any mistakes in timing or setting then please leave me a review or PM me. I will fix them as soon as possible.**

 **Also, I will be naming chapters after some of my favorite songs and I'd love to see who can figure them out. Even the title of this story comes from a line in a song.**

 **Without any further word, enjoy!**

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Chapter 1 - When the Day Met the Night

It had been a very rough day.

Winnie had just gotten home from the office after the last meeting with Mr. Jackson, who was suffering from fairly severe anxiety and slight paranoia. The man was middle-aged and at one point had a promising career in the police force, a beautiful wife, and a happy life. Of course, the battle of New York had left its scars on not just the country, but also, it's people. It seemed every day Winnie had more and more patients coming to her with fears of aliens and destruction. So far it had been a struggle with Mr. Jackson, like many others with his newfound post-traumatic stress, but she was confident in getting through to the kind man and helping him integrate back into civilian life.

With a tired, yet pleased, sigh of exhaustion, Winnie dropped her apartment keys into the small glass bowl that held all her mail and loose change. She slipped out of her burgundy coat and kicked off her heels before moving through her small two-room apartment with a hum. The young woman loved her job, despite the temperamental clients and the sometimes odd hours, but she loved getting to go home and just relax even more. Winnie could drink peppermint tea, let her hair down, and walk around without a bra on. It was her safe haven, this tiny little apartment deep in the slums of Hell's Kitchen. Her sanctuary.

She was just about to start pulling bobby pins out of her blonde hair to release it from its tight bun when a loud knock came at her door. The pounding was frantic, causing Winnie to jump in surprise and quickly hurry over to the door, opening without a second thought. She never really bothered with the peephole, though considering the area Winnie lived in, she really should. Before her stood a young girl with wild red hair, light brown eyes and freckles standing out against the shockingly pale color of her skin. The pretty girl wasn't what drew Winnie's attention, though.

It was the blood covering the redhead and her masked companion.

Winnie had seen the news, had heard about the masked vigilante like everyone else, was told he was a terror and a menace. She knew this, yet when confronted by Danny, the redhead, struggling to hold up the heavily bleeding masked terror in front of her apartment, Winnie couldn't accept what the media had said. "Come inside." She instructed quickly, moving out into the hall and pulling the man's other arm over her own shoulders to help drag him inside. Danny didn't say anything, too busy quivering and holding up the masked vigilante to talk. Winnie shut the door behind them using her foot and motioned for Danny to continue to her bedroom, where they tried to gently lay the wounded man down. He groaned when the two woman accidentally dropped him onto the bed, but otherwise remained unconscious

"H-he just passed out a lit-little bit ago. I-I didn't know w-where else to g-go." Danny stuttered out, unusual for the girl who often swore like a sailor and drank like a fish. She almost always stood to her full height, confident in her curvy body and pretty features, but now she seemed to shrink into herself as if trying to hide away. Winnie took in the bruises on Danny's arm and face, more concerned with the young girl than the masked man laying on the bed. "You need to save him! D-Do the thing, help him!" Danny suddenly began to shout, grabbing the blonde woman by the shoulders and giving her a little shake. Winnie was none too pleased but remained calm as she quickly grabbed onto Danny's arms.

"Danny you need to calm down. I'll help him, but you need to go get cleaned up and wait for me out in the living room. Can you do that?" Her voice was gentle yet stern, taking on her 'Doctor' voice as she tried to soothe the obviously distressed redhead. Slowly Danny loosened her hold on the older blonde, some of the stress leaving her body at Winnie's calm instructions. Finally, she nodded and Winnie gave her a soft smile. "Good. Go lock the front door, get cleaned up, and help yourself to anything in the fridge."

After Danny left and closed the bedroom door behind her, Winnie shot into action, quickly moving over to the masked vigilante to inspect his wounds. Blood covered most of his right side where Winnie could see he had been stabbed. He also looked to have bruising on his face, though that was minor in comparison. First thing first was removing his shirt, which was by no means easy. The small blonde sat on the bed and, with a large huff, pulled the unconscious man up to lean against her in what closely resembled a loose hug. He groaned again, but the sound was soft, prompting her to ignore it and instead focus on grabbing the bottom of the man's black fitted shirt. Winnie couldn't hold back her wince as she pulled the blood and sweat soaked shirt up the man's body, knowing it was probably causing him some pain being moved around so much. She managed to wiggle the shirt off and gently lay the man back down, one hand behind his back while the other cradled his head. Her dress, which had been a cute floral number with an A-line skirt, was now covered in the man's blood from their semi-hug. She sighed, sad at the loss of such a pretty dress but knowing the masked man needed her full attention. Speaking of masks…

Winnie reached out for the mask, her fingers just brushing the edge of the black fabric before she jerked back as if electrocuted. What was she doing? Obviously he was keeping his identity a secret for a reason; Winnie had no place removing the mask hiding his identity, especially when he was in dire need of medical help. She sighed, shaking her head, and turned her attention back to his wounds only to breathe in rather sharply. The wound was bad, right below his ribs on his right side and bleeding profusely. She noticed a few other cuts now that his shirt was removed, but the stab wound was definitely what needed her attention first, as it may have hit an artery or nicked one of his internal organs.

She was glad he was unconscious because this part was much easier when the stranger injured wasn't aware. Winnie had a few tough cases when someone had been badly hurt but was too closed off to allow her the chance to help. The blonde had a feeling that, if this man were awake, he'd be far too stubborn to let her help him. With a deep breath in she placed her hands upon the stab wound, closing her eyes and ignoring the way his sticky, hot, blood slid over her fingers. Instead, she concentrated on his heartbeat, which was dangerously weak, and allowed her own heart to slow down to match. It was something that came with years of practice, allowing her mind to relax and reach out to the man she was touching. It was easy to connect to him, his unconscious mind unguarded as it would be while awake, but maintaining the connection without knowing him well was a struggle. If she knew the person, all she had to do was find a memory, something they shared, and hold on. Yet the thought of going through a stranger's mind without permission made her sick, and in the prospect of keeping this man's identity secret, she chose to hold on without a memory to help. Of course, that was easier said than done, and came with a few complications.

The first thing she felt when connecting to another person was, without fail, pain. The unbearable amounts of pain would suddenly begin to flow into her from the connection, along with a typhoon of other emotions. The masked man was no different and Winnie couldn't help but gasp when she felt his pain, wanting desperately to pull away. Instead, she held onto the connection and tried to taper off some of the sting. It was hard since the pain was a part of what she did, but after a few tense moments, she became used to the burning sensation now present in her own side. Once she was inside his mind and body, so to speak, she could tell that thankfully the blade hadn't broken off when the vigilante had been stabbed. Unfortunately, this would not be a very easy heal; several arteries had in fact been hit, and some internal organs, along with severe muscle damage. It took a few more moments of feeling the wound from the vigilante's perspective before Winnie was ready to carry on.

Actually healing the wound was surprisingly less complicated than making the connection, though it was far more taxing than the latter. In fact, healing a wound was remarkably like CPR. Perhaps an odd comparison, but instead of an awkward kiss, she got to touch their open wounds, and instead of breathing air into their lungs she gave them life.

Okay, so maybe they weren't so similar, but Winnie had never really been able to put into words what she did. It wasn't something she could describe, it was something that could only be felt.

She held onto the connection with the masked vigilante, knowing he wouldn't last much longer if she didn't get to work. Another deep breath before she started to pour herself into his injuries, willing them to heal using her own energy. His body tensed, which Winnie had already expected, and without breaking her connection she moved to sit on top of his legs to hold him in place. Sometimes the person she was healing would thrash about, their body so unaccustomed to the accelerated healing that it reacted violently. Thankfully the masked man didn't seem to be one of those patients, as his body relaxed again after a few moments. Winnie held the healing connection for a while, feeling her body grow weak the longer she healed him.

His wound had been bad, far worse than the blonde generally dealt with, but she held on as long as possible. It weakened her to heal someone, as she used some of her own health, her life force, or whatever, to do such. She could hold out for a while since she had done this many time before, but potentially fatal wounds always kicked her ass in the end. Eventually, it became too much and, with a loud gasp, the connection shattered and a backlash of all the pain she had been blocking came crashing down on top of her. For a few moments, all she felt was searing pain, causing Winnie to crumple up beside the healed man as tears fell down her face and the aftershocks of pain filled her. She should have been more careful, should have pulled back sooner, but the thought of a man dying because she gave up too soon just didn't sit right with her.

It took a few minutes before the pain began to subside, leaving her freezing cold and a bit jittery, as it always did, and soon to be followed by complete exhaustion. She cast another look at the man she had saved, his handsome face partially covered by the black mask. Once more she thought about taking it off and seeing what he really looked like, but instead, she rolled out of bed, dragging a blanket with her, and slowly made her way out into the living room.

Danny sat there, still looking shaken up, but stood instantly when she saw Winnie stumble from her bedroom. The blood soaked blonde smile gratefully at the young girl and allowed herself to be led over the couch to sit down. For what felt like the hundredth time, Winnie was glad she had black furniture. "Are you alright?" Winnie winced at the raspy quality of her own voice, hearing the weariness so very clear in it. Danny gave an unsteady laugh and shook her head.

"I should be asking you that. Here." The blonde nearly moaned in happiness when Danny held out a cup of hot tea, already smelling the soothing peppermint. She took a long sip and let the warmth fill her cold body, allowing herself to relax after the stressful act of force healing. It was always easier if she knew the person and they trusted her, allowing for an easier connection, but unconscious patients worked well enough.

"You know, when I claimed to have an 'open door' policy, I wasn't expecting you to bring me home a wanted criminal." Winnie informed Danny with a small amused smile, sarcasm coating her words.

The redhead frown, surprisingly unapologetic as she replied passionately. "He's not a criminal! He saved my life tonight. I was walking home from 46th street when the men grabbed me up. They took me to the docks and had me and some other girls in containers ready to be shipped off." Winnie could feel her whole body once again stiffen as Danny spoke, familiar with the story. Many girls and children were being stolen off the streets for prostitution or manual labor. It was disgusting and hearing how close Danny had been to being taken made the blonde feel sick. "He told us to run b-but… but I was scared. I couldn't move."

"You were afraid, Danny. That's nothing to be ashamed of." Winnie spoke soothingly, reaching out to touch the other young woman's hand. Danny was familiar to her, someone she had known for a while, so it was easy to pick up on the woman's distress. The more time Winnie spent with someone the easier it was to pick up on their emotions, similar to the mental connection she made with whoever she healed. "It's alright. Keep going." She urged the girl, knowing Danny needed to talk about it, as well as Winnie needing her own curiosity sated.

The freckled woman nodded and continued her story softly. "He grabbed me, I thought he was gonna k-kill me, but then this other guy came out of nowhere with a knife and just-" Danny breathed in a deeply as Winnie set her tea down before promptly pulling the frightened girl in for a hug. It was no surprise that Danny began to cry, the blonde had felt it coming, and she murmured soft words of comfort to the sobbing redhead while rubbing her back. "H-He was moving me away from the guy. T-trying to s-save me and- and I got him stabbed because I-I couldn't move my stupid fe-feet!"

"Hey, none of that now," Winnie replied sternly after pulling back to examine the other woman. "By no means should you blame yourself. You had a traumatic experience and should never feel like it was in some way your fault."

"But-"

"No buts. That man does what he does to protect innocent people - people like _you_. I'm sure he'd take getting stabbed over you, or any other innocent person, getting hurt." Winnie spoke confidently, her green eyes honest as she forced Danny to look at her. After a moment, the young woman nodded her head in understanding, making Winnie to sigh softly in relief. Exhaustion was fast approaching and she knew that this conversation would have to be continued another time.

As if sensing just that, Danny stood up from the couch and grabbed the black hoodie she'd taken off earlier, pulling it back on now to most likely hide the blood covering her shirt. "I should get home, it's really late and you're tired. Thanks for… handling it, Angel." Winnie smiled at the redhead, waving off her thanks and the nickname. She hadn't come up with it nor had she ever tried to hide her real name, but all the kids still called her 'Angel' when they came to her for help. She still laughed when remembering the name's origins, which only a few of her very first patients knew about. As for those who didn't know the story behind the name, perhaps it was easier for them to call her 'Angel' instead of 'Winnie'. Seeing her as this benevolent creature of God rather than a freak with unexplainable powers might be easier for some people to swallow.

After saying her goodbyes to Danny and locking the deadbolt behind her, Winnie was barely able to make it back to the couch. She fell upon it with a deep sigh, not caring that she was still in her bloody clothes or that her couch was quite uncomfortable to sleep on. After a full day of work and healing a deeply injured vigilante, she deserved a nap.

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Matt woke to unfamiliar sounds in a very unfamiliar bed. The sheets, undoubtedly made from cotton, felt like sandpaper against his skin and smelt heavily of an unfamiliar woman. For a moment, he wondered if he'd gone drinking with Foggy the night before and miraculously gotten lucky as well as very wasted, when he quickly remembered what actually transpired the night previous. The kidnappers at the docks who he had dealt with and, unfortunately, being stabbed while pulling a scared woman out of the way. If only he had his new suit, it would have protected him from the blade, but currently, Fisk's man was busy putting the finishing touches on it and Matt was stuck with his old black getup. At the thought of his severe injury, his hand instantly went to where the knife wound had been, only to be surprised. Where he had been stabbed was only smooth flesh interrupted by the slightly raised scars of what felt like a fully healed knife wound. He scowled, not understanding how he could have fully healed while sleeping since he was very certain at one point he had been bleeding out and very close to death.

A clattering brought his attention once more to the other person in the room, reminding him of the possible danger. "Oh! You're awake!" Her voice was unfamiliar, not Claire like he'd been hoping nor was it the girl who had drug him away from the docks, bleeding and very possibly dying. He heard the woman's quiet steps across the wooden floors of the apartment before the bed beside him dipped from her weight. "You've been asleep for quite a while. I was starting to get worried." She continued pleasantly, apparently not picking up on Matt's rather sour mood. The woman was around his age, perhaps a year or two younger than himself, and seemed healthy by her strong heartbeat and fluid blood flow. By the softness of her footsteps, she had to be rather short or very slim, perhaps both, and by the ruffling of clothes he could tell she wore a skirt made of some sort of soft fabric.

"Who are you?" His voice remained calm, but inside he was trying his best not to panic. How was it he kept ending up in these situations? Surely this woman had looked under his mask to identify him - who wouldn't? How many more people could discover his secret before the police, or worse, discovered his true identity?

He still wasn't sure where he was, only that the smell of his blood coated the bed he lay on as well as the woman who now sat beside him. Beneath the smell of his blood he noted that she smelt like peppermint tea and something floral - honeysuckle, he realized - along with the awful artificial smell of her shampoo, which he couldn't quite place. Matt could also tell she had been crying at one point that day, the salt still lingering on her cheeks from where the tears had dripped down her face. She had also worn perfume, but after a long day of work and his blood splattered across her, the usual oppressive scent was masked well enough. Overall she had a pleasant smell, not heavy and overbearing like some people who enjoyed dousing themselves in cologne or by using far too much hand lotion, though at the moment it was quite irrelevant how nice she smelt.

He felt the woman shift her weight uncertainly, obviously debating on his question, before she replied in a playful, yet slightly forced, tone. "Call me whatever you like, handsome." Matt's patience was quickly running out and without much thought he sat up, his hand wrapping around the woman's throat. He held her loosely so as not to hurt or bruise her, though the threat was obvious.

"Who are you?" He repeated with far more force, despite the spinning in his head and the fact that he was holding onto the woman who more than likely just saved his life. Her heartbeat picked up speed and even if he hadn't been touching her he would have felt the way her skin suddenly became hot. For a second Matt mistakenly took it for fear, but was soon proven wrong when the woman leaned in even closer to him.

Her warm breath washed over his face, once again reminding Matt of peppermint tea as she spoke. "I'm the person who just saved your ass, so be a bit more grateful." She informed him in an incredibly cold voice, surprising the vigilante with her lack of fear. Annoyance replaced surprise as Matt opened his mouth to once again demand answers, but was quickly cut off. "I've respected your wish to remain anonymous, so respect mine."

This caused for some pause, Matt processing this new information as his hold on the woman loosened further, though she never pulled away. "You didn't remove my mask?" He tested with some disbelief. Claire had removed his mask while he was unconscious, it wasn't such a stretch to assume this woman had done similar. "You don't know who I am?"

"I don't know who you are and I didn't take off your mask." Her heartbeat remained steady, though he could still feel the heat in her skin from the anger she had previously felt. "Now will you release me? Or do you plan to prove all those newspapers right and hurt an innocent?" Matt grit his teeth at the challenge in her voice but released her anyways. He wasn't a monster. Perhaps he had assumed too much, but in his half lucrative state and the threat of his friends being put in danger, Matt didn't always make the best decisions. Despite that, he wouldn't hurt a defenseless woman who had done nothing so far but help him.

She stood from the bed, turning away from Matt as she moved to the opposite side of the small room. Considering the bed he was laying on, Matt assumed it was a bedroom, especially when he heard the woman begin to shuffle around clothing and hurriedly toss it into a hamper. Obviously, she wasn't aware he was blind if she was bothering to clean up, or perhaps she was a nervous cleaner? No, her heart was steady and she showed no other signs of being nervous.

"Angel." She suddenly spoke, coming to a halt at the foot of the bed and turning to face him with a soft swish of her skirt. Matt cocked his head slightly, confused by what she was trying to say. He was by no means an angel, especially considering the moniker he had taken on as the vigilante. "I mean, that's what the kids call me. I suppose you can call me that as well. It'll be… ironic." He could hear the smile in her voice, that teasing quality from earlier creeping back into her tone. Matt had absolutely no plans of calling her by such a name, had no plans of making any kind of bonds with this woman. She could be dangerous, and if not, he wouldn't allow a repeat of Claire and the Russians to take place. Yet, despite this, Matt still found himself curious about the mystery woman.

"'The kids'?" He repeated in question, wondering if the woman he spoke to had children. She didn't smell like she had any kids or a husband, but perhaps the coppery smell of his blood was covering up the scent of other people.

"That's what I call the trouble makers around here. Bunch of teenagers and 21 year-olds without a clue what to do with themselves." She spoke about them with affection and a sadness he hadn't expected, as if she understood the pains of growing up in a bad situation or had simply seen too much in her short life. The young woman continued to explain to him what she meant while finishing up cleaning. "Nobody really watches out for them… so I try to. If they get hurt or need to talk to someone, they come find me."

Matt didn't reply, still processing everything she'd said so far. Instead, he nodded and began to sit up once again, huffing softly as he was hit with a wave of dizziness. Quicker than he thought she could manage, the woman was by his side and attempting to gently lay him back down. "I need to go." He grasped her wrists and tried to move her away, but she stubbornly refused and was quick to use her body weight against him.

"Oh no, you aren't going anywhere Mister 'I-Like-To-Jump-Off-Buildings-And-Get-Stabbed-By-Bad-Guys'." He was surprised when she sat down on his legs, attempting to pin them. Matt knew he could easily get her off, as she was quite slim if her wrists and throat were any indications, but just the small action of sitting up was exhausting. With a scoff at her words he lay back down, frustration eating away at him as the woman continued to sit on his legs. She must have noticed his annoyance, for she began to speak once more in a teasing tone. "Usually, when men wake up in my bed they aren't so eager to leave." Had he not been so anxious Matt would have laughed at her obvious attempt to lighten the mood, but instead he simply breathed out a soft snort of amusement. This seemed good enough for the woman since her heart picked up and warmth spread to her cheeks in delight. The good feeling passed, though, and she became more serious. "You're going to need at least another thirty minutes of rest before you leave. I may have fixed the damage, but your body is still catching up to the accelerated rate that it was healed. You need to let it catch up before you go back out to jumping rooftops and beating up bad guys."

At her words, Matt was finally able to figure out why he felt so wrong. His body was practically buzzing, a mixture of adrenaline and endorphins flooding his veins even though he was out of danger and no longer hurt. Apparently the woman was correct, his body was trying to catch up to his new state of being well and healthy. "How did you…?" He trailed off uncertainly, not sure what to call it. Healing? Is that what she had done?

He felt her stand up, releasing his legs now that he seemed a bit more likely to remain in bed. "I, uh, don't really know myself. It's just always been something I could do. Never really knew why." Matt listened closely to her heart beat for a lie but found none. Instead, he got the distinct impression she was a bit… disappointed? It was hard to tell without being able to see her expression, but he could tell by the change in tone and the sagging of her shoulders that her mood had gone down.  
"Why did you help me?" Matt decided to quickly change the subject, realizing he wouldn't get much more from her if he continued to ask about however she had healed him. For the moment, it didn't matter, though he knew later that day he would be looking into such abilities.

She took the change in conversation in stride, once more perking up as she moved across the room to open another door. She raised her voice to be heard in the other room, though Matt didn't really need her to. "That red-haired girl with the freckles, Danny, she brought you here to me. I don't know how much you remember since you were bleeding out from a really bad stab wound when she dragged you in here, but you saved her life." He listened as a faucet was turned on and then off before she returned with a glass in hand, ice clinking in the bottom of it as she set it on the bedside table beside him. "Figured you might be thirsty. Anyways, Danny told me about you rescuing her and some other girls on the docks. It's a good thing she brought you here to me or else you might be, uh, sleeping with the fishes."  
Matt took the glass and sat up slightly to drink, even though he could smell the heavy iron concentration in the water. He was too tired to care, ignoring the horribly strong taste of pennies as he swallowed a few gulps. After he finished he lay back down, hoping this fatigue would pass soon. "... thank you. For helping me and for not…" He gestured to his mask, not bothering to elaborate.

"For not taking a peek at the goods?" She filled in with amusement, causing Matt to breathe out a soft laugh. "Oh I was tempted, trust me, but I knew it wouldn't be fair to do something like that while you were unconscious." He could hear the sincerity in her words and her heart beat, nodding his head in response. "Besides, next time you take off your clothes for me, I doubt it will be because you need healing."

An unexpected laugh burst from Matt at her rather direct innuendo, knowing from the heat of her body that she was only half joking. "You're… rather odd." He felt flattered, and any other day as Matthew Murdock he may have returned the sentiment, but for the moment, he was tired and currently dressed as his crime-fighting alter ego.

"Mmm, I prefer… optimistic. Very pointedly, so." She supplied with what he assumed was a very cheeky grin.

Matt shook his head. "Do you always flirt with dangerous vigilantes?"

"Only the cute ones that end up bleeding all over my bed." She drawled in a sarcastic tone, though he could tell the smile was still on her face. She suddenly raised her wrist, the soft ticking from it letting Matt know she was looking at her watch, before swearing rather colorfully. He raised both brows at her, though he knew the expression was concealed by his mask. "I'm going to be late for work if I don't get going."

Matt frowned at this while the woman stood and quickly began to move about the room, grabbing clothes, shoes, and a heavy bag that he assumed was a purse. "What time is it?" He wondered what kind of job she could have that started in the middle of the night.

"Almost six." She paused before adding on hastily, "A.M. You slept through most of the night. Accelerated healing of a fatal wound can be pretty tiring, plus you bled out a whole bunch. I'm definitely going to need new sheets. And a new dress. I liked this one, too." She was beginning to ramble, but Matt was content to let her continue as he processed this new information. He had wasted a whole night of crime fighting in the woman's bed. Usually, such a thought wouldn't be so disappointing, but considering the fact that he spent the whole time bleeding out or completely unconscious, Matt was rather displeased.

Suddenly the woman teetered dangerously, having to grasp onto her dresser to remain standing. Matt was shocked to hear her heart rate suddenly drop, her body going cold without warning. "Woah moved a little too fast there." He heard her grumble. Matt was about to climb out of bed and help the mysterious woman, but she was already straightening up and waving him off as her vitals returned to normal. "Don't get up, I'm fine. Just a bit more tired than I realized." He could hear the lie when she claimed to be fine but didn't call her out on it.

She moved once more to his side, reaching out slowly to touch his chest. He tensed under her hand, though she showed no signs of noticing as she continued to feel his side where the stab wounds had previously been. Now all that remained were faint scars, ones to match the many others crisscrossing his body. "I think I healed up all the internal damage, but you really should take it easy today. Leave whenever you want, but be careful to stay out of sight. I have a fire escape connected to my bedroom window that you can use to get to the roof or the alley behind my apartment." Her hands, which were as soft and petite as the rest of her was, lingered for just a moment on his chest as her heart beat picked up. Quickly she moved away, picking back up the objects she had sat down during her dizzy spell. "I have to go shower and then immediately run off to work, but if… if you ever need someone to save your ass again… you know where to find me."

There was a hesitance in her voice, her heart stuttering along with her nervous offer. For a moment, Matt believed it was because she was afraid of him, but then she continued in a softer voice. "I know about the things you've done, the people you've hurt… but I also know about the people you've saved. Some of them were my friends. So if you need the help, come to me." There was a confidence in her voice he hadn't expected and her steady heartbeat told him everything he needed to know.

He gave a slow nod in response, noting how her shoulders drooped just a bit as she turned to go. He contemplated his next move for only a second and spoke quickly when she opened her bedroom door. "Thank you again… Angel." She didn't respond, but the quickening of her heart rate and the warmth that flooded to her cheeks was more than enough answer for him. He listened until she left the room, and then until she had turned on the shower and stepped inside before he stood from the bed and hastily found his blood-soaked shirt to redress. He had been feeling better for a couple minutes now but had wanted to hear what the strange woman had to say.

As he climbed nimbly from the window and out onto her fire escape, ready to head back home for some more sleep, he was quite glad he'd stayed.

* * *

 **Alright so I am sure you all have some questions or concerns, but just stick it out a little longer. A lot of stuff will be explained within due time, like the exact details of Winnie's healing, how she got the nickname 'Angel' (I promise it's not just a cheap excuse for the whole Devil/Angel thing), why exactly Winnie shows Daredevil zero fear (it's not because she's just some badass, there is a legitimate reason), and many other questionable story details you may be wondering about.**

 **I will tell you this: Matt is going to wear the original black outfit from season 1 for a couple chapters, partially because he can get injured easier in it, but mainly because it was super hot? Don't get me wrong, I did the new red suit, but the black one was all street fighter chic.**

 **Currently I have up to 5 chapters written and I will be posting them whenever I finish making corrections, so if you've got any suggestions on Winnie or the direction of this story, please send me a message! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2 - House of Memories

**Here's the next chapter! This one was a lot of fun to write and you get to see a bit more of Winnie's personality and Matt's indecision surrounding her. This will be a relatively slow burn, though there will be lots of flirting in the mean time! Also, thank you to Vanessa Rowes for reviewing! reading your review really kicked me into gear and got me to finally get this chapter posted. **

**I hope you all enjoy and, as always, please comment or message me with any questions or suggestions.**

* * *

Chapter 2 - House of Memories

It wasn't until a week and a half later that Winnie saw Daredevil again.

She had been on her way home after a very disappointing date that she had predicted, way in advance, would go awful. Winnie _detested_ blind dates, as they always wound up with one party being uninterested with the other and then having to awkwardly decline a follow-up date. She had never been very good at letting people down, far too blunt when it came to her own personal relationships, and she couldn't stand to sit through a date with a man who was very clearly uninterested in anything she had to say.

"Seriously Miranda, this is bullshit and you know it." The blonde made her way through the streets of Hell's Kitchen without concern of the riff raff hanging out along the street. Winnie knew she lived in a bad neighborhood, being so close to the docks and the shady warehouse district, but the rent was cheap and she was able to easily lay low in this area. Besides, most of the people around here knew her well and wouldn't bother her. "I understand you're concerned about my love life or whatever, but a _dentist_?"

" _What's wrong with a dentist? I married a dentist! Jack was soooo nice, an absolute gentleman._ " Miranda, Winnie's best friend from high school and longtime wingman (wing-woman?) insisted passionately over the phone while the other woman climbed the stairs to her apartment. The blonde rolled her eyes in response, knowing that while Miranda's husband of three years, Caleb, was a great guy, his coworker had lacked the same good qualities.

"He was _boring_. I was one more stupid flossing joke away from performing an enucleation with my spoon." Winnie informed her friend with a dramatic sigh, juggling her cell phone to be squished between her ear and shoulder as she dug through her satchel for her keys. She often debated cleaning out the rather cluttered brown leather bag but knew as soon as she removed one of the seemingly useless items she would then need it.

Miranda scoffed loudly through the phone before following up with clear annoyance in her voice. " _An enu-a-what-a?_ " The blonde couldn't help but snort at her friend's aggressive tone, knowing that Miranda hated it when Winnie used medical jargon to describe things.

"Enucleation. It's a type of surgery; removal of the eye."

" _Well, why didn't you just say that?_ "

Winnie gave a small cheer as she retrieved the keys from her bag, finally able to wiggle them into the door before performing the complicated task of opening the old locks. It always involved her twisting the key side to side and rattling the door two or three times before unlocking, but Winnie had never minded all that much. "Because I know how much it annoys you when I talk 'in Doctor'." She playfully teased her friend after swinging open her front door and stepping inside. "It's payback for setting me up on such a terrible date. Why can't I just go out to bars and get wasted? That always got me laid."

Miranda gave a disappointed sigh as Winnie put her keys into the glass bowl by her front door and hung up her satchel so she could wiggle out of her coat. " _Because it's not just about getting laid anymore, Winnie. Don't you want to get married? Have kids? You know, settle down._ " The woman in question sighed at this, knowing her friend was right, yet at the same time…

"I want to settle down, but I don't want to settle either. Is it so bad that I want something more than a dentist with a bad sense of humor? I want passion and excitement! Someone that makes me feel alive and not just… like I'm going through the motions. I want-" Winnie had just turned around after hanging up her coat and flipped on the lights to her darkened apartment when she saw him. "JESUS CHRIST!" She yelped in surprise, fumbling with her phone as she finally noticed the Devil of Hell's Kitchen casually leaning against her couch, once again heavily bleeding.

"Not quite." He replied quietly with the ghost of a smirk, amusement quickly replaced by pain as he leaned more heavily against the couch.

" _Wow, I mean I knew you had high standards Winnie, but don't you think the son of God is a bit, I don't know, unattainable?_ "

Winnie was too shocked by the man in front of her to really process what her friend was saying. "What? Look, Miranda, I've got to go. I'll call you later." She didn't wait for an answer, knowing her best friend would understand and forgive her (after a few hours of griping). After hanging up the phone and tossing it into the same bowl as her keys, Winnie moved quickly to the masked man's side to support him. "How'd you get in?" She asked in surprise, having not expected to come home to a bleeding vigilante.

"You leave the window to your fire escape unlocked. Probably shouldn't do that, never know who might get in." The blonde laughed slightly, shaking her head as she led the wounded man around the couch to sit down.

"Oh yeah, like bleeding crime fighters?" She replied jokingly, taking a seat in front of the vigilante on her coffee table. She placed herself between his legs, their knees touching as she leaned forward to find the source all the blood. A hiss left her mouth upon seeing the rip in his shirt, revealing a rather nasty looking cut that started towards the center of her collar and curved up around his left shoulder. It looked like someone had gone for the heart but thankfully missed.

Daredevil quietly chuckled, breaking some of his menacing vigilante appearance, and causing Winnie's own smile to grow. While he had been here last time, the green-eyed woman had made it her goal to make him smile. The rare times he did were incredibly satisfying.

Suddenly the masked man spoke up. "Not interested in dentists?" He asked in faux innocence, causing the blonde to gasp in mock horror. Winnie had not yet realized that she had only mentioned her date being a dentist while outside of her apartment building, far out of earshot of any normal man.

"It's rude to eavesdrop, y'know." She admonished him with a soft tsk, wagging her finger in his direction before sighing softly. "But yeah. I mean there was nothing wrong with the guy, he was just… boring." The masked vigilante hummed in response, prompting Winnie to continue speaking. "Why can't I get setup with someone interesting? Like a fireman or a police officer or - or a lawyer."

He seemed startled, going stiff a moment before stating rather curiously. "Lawyer doesn't exactly match your other two examples."

"Alright, hear me out," She began very seriously, hands held in front of her as if to keep the vigilante from leaving - as if he could with that wound. "I've had to argue this to my friends many times before. Consider this: what's sexier than a man fighting for justice by using his wit and intellect? Taking down bad guys using clever tactics. Also, courtroom dirty talk."

The vigilante gave a choked laugh, trying hard to keep a straight face as he replied slowly. "Courtroom... dirty talk?"

Winnie nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yeah, like, 'Let's adjourn to the bedroom' or 'I sustain that motion' or... well I don't know, I won't be the one coming up with the dirty lawyer lingo." She waved it off, glossing over that bit. "Plus, I watch a lot of _Law and Order: Special Victims Unit_. Oh and that new one, _Suits_. The lawyers on that are hot." The masked man scoffed softly before shaking his head, but Winnie took no offense. She knew her tastes were a bit peculiar, but she wasn't ashamed either.

The woman was reminded that the vigilante was not here for a chat when he shifted on the couch, wincing in pain at the action. For a moment her thoughts flickered to the last time Daredevil had been bleeding out in her apartment, causing Winnie to frown, pout more like, and then sigh in resignation. "What?" Though his face showed nothing, worry instantly replaced the amusement previously heard in his voice.

"Looks like I got my hopes up for nothing last time," She could see the confusion still on his face, so she explained with another over dramatic sigh. "You'll need to remove your shirt. Sadly not for the reasons I was hoping for." The wounded vigilante took a moment to catch up, most likely remembering their last conversation himself, before letting out another amused chuckle. He shook his head at her antics before starting to remove his shirt, wincing as the action pulled at the large cut on his shoulder and chest.

Winnie allowed him to remove his own clothing, taking a moment to appreciate his chest now that it wasn't _totally_ covered in blood. He certainly had a lot of scars, and bruises covered his skin in dark purples and yellows, but Winnie found him no less attractive because of them. Scars meant you were strong, that you survived, and the young woman found it more attractive to have lived and be marked by it than to be without proof of adventure or struggle.

"Can you heal it?" The masked man asked just a tab bit impatient, snapping Winnie from her thoughts. She flushed in embarrassment, realizing she had been staring for far too long to be considered polite.

"Oh, yeah, definitely. I think you may also have a cracked rib or two, from the look of these bruises." She reached out and trailed her fingers gently over the area she spoke of, where the vigilante's skin looked like a terrible finger painting of purples, reds, and yellow.

He breathed in sharply before wincing, as the action seemed to cause him some discomfort. "They are. Cracked, I mean. Two of them." Winnie wondered how he could be so certain, but decided that after getting the shit beat out of you so many times, maybe you just start to figure out what's broken and what's only mildly bruised.

"Alright, not a problem… well uh… except for one problem." She winced slightly, remembering why this had been so easy last time. Daredevil cocked his head to the side, something that reminded her of a curious puppy as she continued on with uncertainty. "See… you're conscious."

Obviously, the masked man thought she wasn't too smart because he gave her a slow nod before replying warily. "Yes, I am. That's a good thing, it means I haven't lost too much blood. _Yet_." He stressed the last word as if to remind Winnie how he could, at any moment, pass out from the still bleeding wound on his shoulder.

"Hey, don't get cheeky with me! I'm the only one allowed to be sassy." She retorted with a huff, displeased by the tone he had used with her. "What I mean is that what I do, healing people, requires a very… close connection." The Daredevil had quieted, his face back to its carefully blank mask. She hated it when he did that, all stone faced, making it that much harder to get a read on him. It only enforced her suspicions about healing him being more difficult with him awake. "A mental connection, an emotional one. It's not easy to do when the patient isn't very… open."

His face hadn't changed at all, but being so close, Winnie was able to tell when his demeanor suddenly shifted. His body tensed slightly and from their very faint link, she could read some very negative emotions. "'Mental Connection'?" He questioned with cool indifference, but from the way he clenched and unclenched his fist, the blonde knew she had hit a nerve.

Going with her gut, something the woman did often when consulting a client or patient, Winnie gently placed her hand over the Vigilante's gloved fist and looked up at him earnestly. "If you're afraid that I've been looking into your mind, then don't be. I haven't and I won't." He seemed to relax a bit, but the suspicion still lingered, or perhaps it was that he just didn't understand why she wouldn't. "I take no pleasure looking into the heads of my patients without permission. It's wrong and I wouldn't even consider doing it."

"But you can do it?" He pressed on.

Winnie gave a soft sigh, debating how to explain. "In a sense. I get emotions mostly, memories occasionally, and sometimes words or thoughts if the feelings behind them are strong enough. It's not like... opening up a book and reading from it. The human mind is complete chaos and I find it difficult to navigate, especially with a stranger." Feeling the man was still tense, the blonde gave his clenched fist a soft squeeze. "I won't look into your head, I promise. That's not the sort of person I am."

After a tense moment where Winnie wondered if maybe she had made a mistake, finally, the masked man nodded and relaxed, shoulders dropping some as he raised a hand to thoughtfully rub at his jaw. Quickly she moved her hand back to her lap, not wanting to push her luck or make him uncomfortable. "... Alright. How do we do this, then?" He sighed after a few seconds, having thought it over.

"It helps to have a memory, something we both share that I can hold onto while healing you, but unfortunately were both still strangers for the most part." She began to explain, back to business.

He was quick to cut. "Why not use the memory from the last time I was here, or this memory right now?"

"No, no, those won't work." The woman shook her head, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders at the action while her patient frowned. "The memories can't be just anything. They need emotion, something strong. Anger, disappointment, disgust. Something strong enough to be remembered years down the road."

"You didn't mention love. Or happiness. Joy?" Clever boy, he had picked up immediately on the one thing she hadn't wanted him to.

For a moment, she considered lying, but after shifting around nervously she decided it didn't matter enough to lie about. "I don't know, negative emotions are just easier for me to grasp, I suppose. What's that quote by Anne Frank? 'Dead people receive more flowers than the living ones because regret is stronger than gratitude'. People tend to hold onto negative emotions tighter than the positive ones." His expression hadn't changed from its unreadable state, only proving to make Winnie more agitated. "Look, do you want to get healed now or after you've passed out from blood loss? Because the latter would be easier for me."

He must have picked up on her discomfort since the masked man gave her a simple nod and motioned with her hand to continue. "Alright, good. The only thing you really need to do is relax, clear your mind, and just let me in when I come knocking. It's really easy if you're an open person, but seeing how you have a whole secret identity thing, I'm assuming you're not exactly a 'sharing' kind of guy." A brief scoff from the man in question was all she need for an answer. "In that case, just do like I said and relax. Close your eyes, let your mind wander, meditate, whatever. I just need your defenses lowered enough to get it, then I'll take it from there."

Despite her earlier assurances that she wouldn't look into his mind, Daredevil still appeared a bit wary of actually going through with her plan. Winnie was just about to suggest knocking him out herself when the quiet man gave her a nod, his body going surprisingly lax. He swiftly brought his legs up underneath him, despite the obvious discomfort it caused his ribs, and sat crisscrossed on her couch as his hands rested on his knees in a slightly curled grasp. It was startling to see how quickly he was able to let go of his worries and find peace within his mind, inadvertently letting Winnie know that this might be something he did on a regular schedule. Perhaps she hadn't been all that off with the whole 'meditating' thing, as some people used it to help with anger management. If there was anyone who needed that, it was definitely this guy.

Scooching closer, Winnie balanced on the edge of the coffee table as she leaned forward to place her hands upon the vigilante. He went tense again, only for a moment, as the blonde's left hand was placed gently over his tender ribs while the other covered as much of the knife wound as she could. She waited until he had once again relaxed before pressing on, doing just as she had the time before and slowly attempting to enter his mind. It was different this time, now that the masked man was awake, like pressing against an invisible wall and feeling the vibrations of thoughts and emotions on the other side. Winnie had to search for a while, testing the strength of his mental barriers and searching for an entrance, but after struggling a few moment she was able to creep into his consciousness. As usual, she felt the pain first, causing her breath to grow ragged before she blocked off most of it, then she waited to be hit by the man's other senses.

Sometimes she would see from the patient's eyes, or hear with their ears, or taste something only they could perceive. It faded in slowly, but the aggressive amount of noise and smells were almost enough to make her pull out of the man's mind. Everything she heard or smelt was so powerful, she could even taste things in the air! She was shocked by the heavy scent of her own perfume and the chemical taste of it on her, or rather his, tongue. That wasn't the only bombarding smell or taste, her whole apartment was a mixture of peppermint tea and strawberry shampoo, overbearing to her new sensitive senses. Not only that, but she could hear everything, from the pounding of her heart to a soccer match on TV three blocks away.

It was remarkable and overwhelming all at the same time, so she quickly blocked off the man's senses just to be safe. Thankfully Daredevil was remaining quite docile, his mind only spiking here and there when her own did. She would have to think about the man's strangely acute senses another time, as she still had a job to do.

Deciding she had a strong enough hold, Winnie turned her focus onto healing the vigilante. Warmth filled his body where her hands touched him, soothing the pain while the blonde's body steadily began to drop in temperature. It was nothing new, an uncomfortable side effect from healing people. Winnie ignored her dropping temperature as she focused on sealing up the cut on her patient's chest while simultaneously mending his two cracked ribs. It was tiring, but since neither wound was fatal, not as exhausting as his previous injury was.

After several moments of silence filled only by Winnie's soft pants of exertion, the healing was finished and the young woman slowly pulled back. For a moment, the familiar rush of adrenaline charged her veins, but it was sadly short-lived this time around. Rather, a weariness filled her, the bone-deep kind that only came from healing too often in a short amount of time. After the rather disappointing date she had almost forgotten about and the unexpected call for her healing, Winnie was ready to call it quits for the night. "There, all done." She mumbled before yawning, not bothering to cover her mouth or even pretend like she wasn't absolutely worn out.

"You're cold." That certainly hadn't been what Winnie expected him to say, but her mind was sluggish, so maybe she had been hoping for too much when expecting a thank you of some kind.

"I'm fine." She replied as she stood, only to wobble unsteadily upon her feet. More than likely she would have fallen backward right onto the coffee table, had the vigilante quickly stood up and steadied her. He had her grasped by the arms and his lips were pulled into a grim frown, something she didn't like very much. "Stop that." She demanded, gesturing to his face before sagging forward into his arms.

He tensed up for a moment as her head nuzzled into his neck before he gave a tired sigh and easily hoisted her up into his arms. Had she not been so out of it, the blonde would have been rather pleased by the action, especially since the vigilante was still shirtless. "Stop what?" Winnie was sure he was patronizing her, but in her half-awake state, she couldn't be bothered to complain.

"Frowning. Not nearly as handsome as your smile." She saw the twitch of his lips as he fought against doing just as she said, making the young woman grin cheerfully. There was no doubt that her favorite part of meeting the masked vigilante was getting him to smile at her silly flirting. The masked man juggled her around to grab his shirt before making his way into her open bedroom. "You know, I didn't actually expect you to come back." Winnie wasn't sure why she said it, but it was true. She certainly hadn't expected him to return to her, unless it was to ensure, by more violent means, that she really didn't know his secret.

The smile that Daredevil had been fighting fell completely off his face, making her instantly regret speaking. It was only worsened by the fact that he soon lowered her out of his arms onto her rather comfy bed. He first cleaned the blood off her hand, the one she placed over his cut, using his black shirt. He then moved down to her feet, his hand trailing her leg till he found both her heels and gently removed them.

"Neither did I." He finally replied in a blunt manner and for some reason, it really did hurt to hear it. Some part of her had known that healing Daredevil had more than likely just been a fluke, just like this time probably was. Still, she had hoped that maybe the masked crime fighter had appreciated her abilities a bit more than that.

His face shifted then as if realizing something, and after a tense moment of thought, he pulled the thick comforter over her lightly shaking body. She hadn't even realized how cold she really was, but Winnie knew that was just the numb aftershock of being back inside her own head. "I didn't want to put you in danger. Too many people already know my secret… could be hurt by it." He began in a strangely empty tone, though after just being inside his mind, Winnie was able to very clearly feel the emotion behind his words. Fear, anger, anxiety, all coursed through his blood, making her heart ache for him.

She quickly reached out, hand blindly grasping for his own as she tried to give him what little comfort she could. "I knew the risks when I offered to help. Don't get yourself killed because you're worried about 'what ifs'." Her voice was surprisingly lucid as she spoke, stern yet laced with concern as she stared up at the tense man. "You've seen the neighborhood I live in; does it seem like I'm all that concerned with potential danger?"

Winnie's attempt to lighten the mood seemed to work, as the vigilante once against fought against smiling, losing the battle rather quickly. It wasn't a full grin. No, it was the tired, slightly forced, kind of smile.

But it was a start.

"Now I know you're probably going back out there to jump buildings and kick ass, but try to be careful. Not so sure I could go for round two tonight." She giggled, thinking of a rather dirty joke but keeping it to herself just this one time. "G'night, Handsome." She declared with another yawn, allowing his gloved hand to slip from her own as she snuggled deeper under the blankets.

It was quiet and she was almost certain the masked man had already left, but then she heard a very soft, "Goodnight, Angel." before the shutting of her bedroom window alerted her to his exit. Despite being absolutely drained, Winnie fell asleep wearing a satisfied smile and warm feeling in her chest.

* * *

Matt flopped onto his bed unceremoniously, softly groaning as he hit the mattress. Angel had been right when she assumed he would be going back out after being healed, despite the weird tingly feeling he had gotten after she finished. He hadn't been completely worn out like when he had woken up in her bed the time before, but he certainly was feeling it after a few hours patrolling the streets. Thinking about his previous wounds, Matt's fingers ghosted over the barely noticeable scar running along his shoulder, right where, only hours ago, he had been bleeding out from. Even the bruises that had at one point covered his torso were now almost completely faded as if he had received them a month ago instead of at the beginning of his night. Matt would certainly be better off once Melvin finished with his new suit, but for the time being he at least had a very capable healer to keep him going.

It was still difficult for him to wrap his head around. _Healing_. If he wasn't gifted with incredibly advanced senses, he may not even believe it. Yet the proof was in the faint scars lining his body.

Although he was fairly exhausted, Matt's mind was far too busy with thoughts of the mysterious young woman. She was… difficult to figure out. Of course, he could still detect when she lied or felt nervous or angry, but she always reacted differently than he expected. As a lawyer, Matt was quite good at figuring people out, asking the right questions to get what he wanted, but this woman never really gave him exactly what he was looking for.

Maybe that was why he had gone to her. Claire had been working and Matt didn't really like to call Foggy unless absolutely necessary, so he had gone to her. At the same time, he had suffered far worse injuries when he was just on his own; it wasn't like Matt couldn't have handled it himself.

An hour later, the vigilante was still trying to figure out why he had gone to her. He probably would have still been contemplating it if the knock at his door had not signaled the arrival of Foggy. He had heard his best friend coming from blocks away but hadn't bothered to stand until the knock came. Matt tossed on a sweatshirt and shuffled over to the door, unneeded since Foggy was already letting himself inside using the spare key he'd been given after learning the blind man's secret identity.

"Hey! Wakey wakey eggs and bakey." His best friend declared cheerfully as he entered the apartment, the paper bag in his hand softly crinkling as Foggy shook it. Matt raised a brow, already knowing that there was neither eggs nor bacon in the bag. "Well, actually it's bagels, but 'wakey wakey bagels and bagels' doesn't rhyme so well."

Matt chuckled softly as he moved to the kitchen, retrieving a water bottle from inside the fridge and drinking from it. "Wow Matt, you look like shit," Foggy commented bluntly, still speaking in his normal chipper tone. "Rough night?" He could hear his friend's heart briefly speed up, more than likely from worry, and the forced casualty in his tone cut Matt like a knife. Though they had mended bridges and Foggy eventually came to accept Matt's nighttime activities, he knew his friend still worried about what the brunette did in his spare time.

"Wasn't too bad." He replied with a shrug, taking another sip of his water as he leaned against the kitchen island. "I saw her again." Matt was a bit hesitant to add. After his first encounter with the healer, Matt had told Foggy all about the strange encounter, leaving out the bit where he was fatally wounded, of course.

"Who?" Foggy asked with a frown, already biting into his bagel. What Matt had said finally clicked, though, and he very quickly swallowed a large chunk of bagel. " _Her_? As in, the girl with the magic healing hands." The brunette chuckled as his friend made some sort of odd hand gesture, one that most likely involved Foggy wiggling his fingers and making funny faces. "I thought you weren't going to involve her?" Foggy's hands dropped, suddenly becoming serious as he took on a more accusatory tone. "Did you get injured?"

Matt was quick to hold up his hands in mock surrender, making sure to keep his face perfectly innocent. "It was nothing I couldn't handle myself. I was just…" The night time crime fighter sighed, raising one hand to rub at the bridge of his nose. "To be honest, I'm not sure why I went back."

Foggy was quiet a moment before loudly scoffing. "Really Matt? Isn't obvious?" The man in question was about to reply with a very sarcastic remark, but his blond friend continued on without pause. "Obviously, you went back because once again you've stumbled upon a beautiful woman-"

"Foggy, neither of us even know what she looks like."

"It's you, Matt, of course, she's a gorgeous woman with questionable character." Foggy carried on without fail, already knowing that Matt would deny knowing the woman's beauty. "That's kind of your M.O., but not only that, she's also got these unexplainable abilities that make the impossible possible." His best friend paused to take another bite of bagel before carrying on in a slightly sarcastic tone. "Sound familiar?"

Matt cocked his head to the side in thought, processing what Foggy said before replying rather slowly. "You think that I went to see her because… because of her ability?"

"That and the whole morally ambiguous beauty thing, but yeah. It's not like you run into special people all that often. Maybe you're looking for camaraderie in a fellow super-person." The blond male stood and threw away his trash before offering the second bagel to Matt, who waved him off. Whoever had handled the bagel before Foggy was wearing too much cologne and some of it now coated the food. Foggy wouldn't notice, but Matt would absolutely taste the chemicals. The Brunette was still mulling over what his friend had suggested when Foggy continued in a slightly more serious tone. "And y'know, I bet she feels the same."

Apparently the confusion was pretty obvious on Matt's face because his friend continued with a dramatic sigh. "She probably feels lonely. I mean, why else would she help a violent masked vigilante who isn't always painted in the best light when concerning the media." Matt's mood plummeted, his chest tightening as Foggy called him out for exactly what he was: a dangerous man. Still, his best friend carried on without pause. "I know you don't want to risk involving more people, and I'm all for not being thrown in jail because your secret got out..."

"But?" Matt pressed Foggy on, wanting to hear what advice his friend had to share.

"Buuut… maybe she needs a friend. Someone who gets what it's like to be all… " Another hand gesture was made, one Matt didn't quite catch before Foggy added in a playful tone. "And maybe you do too. I know I'm amazing and the greatest friend you could ever have, endlessly understanding and exceptionally handsome," He felt his friend's heartbeat skip slightly, palms slightly sweaty as he grew a bit nervous. "But I don't really understand what it's like to be like you or her, Matt."

The brunette didn't reply for a while, still digesting what his friend was saying. Was Foggy right? Was Matt returning to the mysterious woman his way of reaching out to someone… like him? He couldn't be sure, not yet, but he would definitely be thinking about it for the next few days. "You just argued for both sides." Matt teased his friend lightly, wanting to drop the heavy topic for the moment.

"What can I say? You can take the courtroom out of the Lawyer, but you can't take the Lawyer out of the courtroom." Foggy replied with a joyful laugh, obviously easing after the slightly stressful conversation. "Or is it the other way around? Nevermind, you need to get dressed and we both need to get to the office! We've got things to do, like lots of boring paperwork and reading bills we can't pay." Matt chuckled softly and patted his friend lightly on the back before moving back into his bedroom to put on his suit. His daytime one, that is.

* * *

 **So what did you think? Still confused? I get that things might still be a little unclear at the moment, but don't worry! Next chapter will reveal some more details on Winnie's exact powers, along with the appearance of Matt's red suit, and a visit to Father Lantom (whose character I hopefully won't butcher).**

 **I hope you all liked Matt and Foggy's interaction because I hope to write about other characters besides Matt and Winnie. If any of you think I'm getting the character reactions wrong or just completely misinterpreting them, then please send me a message! I'd hate to ruin the story with Matt or Foggy being too OOC.**

 **Once again, please message me with any concerns! I would also love some more feedback on what everyone thinks, especially because reviews are what keep me writing. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Last Time

**You guys are getting this chapter a bit early because I won't be able to update this weekend and because I am super excited/anxious about it. Things are going to get a little dark and some new details (and questions) will be brought up concerning Winnie!**

 **Also, thanks to MaryElisabeth, Vanessa Rowes, Captianamericagirl15, and vxmpire** f **or reviewing! I loved reading your comments and greatly appreciate the feedback.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3 - The Last Time

Their third meeting came sooner than expected, at least for Winnie.

It had been almost six days since she'd last seen the masked vigilante, but the blonde enjoyed keeping up with his night time adventures by reading blogs and online newspaper articles. The descriptions of what he did, the torture and maiming, would cause her to rethink her offer to help him. Of course, then she would learn about the nasty things that said bad guy had done and she'd no longer feel like the Daredevil had been too wrong in what he did.

She also contemplated the new things she had learned, one being the man's heightened senses. It hadn't been till she woke up the next morning and reviewed their conversation that she realized he knew her date was a dentist when she had only said that to Miranda while outside of his building. The blonde also noted that during her time in his head, not once did she ever see out of his eyes, which wouldn't usually be weird except that she had access to all his other senses. Coupled with how extremely acute those other senses were, Winnie was certain that he was somebody like herself. An unexplainable person with impossible gifts. Still, the young woman didn't want to get her hopes up too high, so she brushed it all off. She hadn't seen through his eyes because of a fluke and perhaps the heightened senses were some new side effect of her own ability.

Aside from reading up on him and picking over their conversation from time to time, Winnie carried on as normal, going about her day like she wasn't a semi-accomplice to a wanted criminal. It was a bit odd, but the green eyed girl had grown up keeping secrets. She was practically a professional at this point. The worst was when she went to talk with the troubled youth in her area, acting as a volunteer counselor for the distressed teens with nowhere to go. It was hard to tell them that lying didn't cause anything but problems when she was in fact, the biggest hypocrite ever when it came to such.

Winnie had only been asleep a few hours, most of which she spent tossing and turning when she heard three sharp knocks. The blonde groaned, fumbling around with the clock on her bedside table to check the time. It was only a little bit after one A.M., making her rather cranky very quickly. For a moment, she debated not getting out of bed and pretending to sleep, but the knocks came again and she gave a very loud cry of frustration before throwing the blankets off. "I'm comin'! Fuckin' hell, keep it down!" She called out aggressively while trying to dance into a pair of pajama pants since she couldn't very well answer the door in her panties.

The knock came once again, just as impatient, but for the first time she noticed the sound was not coming from her front door, but from her bedroom window instead. She yelped, seeing the dark outline of the devil (literally) outside her window. Without bothering to pull on a bra, since she was already wearing a loose gray t-shirt, the blonde moved quickly to open the window up.

"It was locked." He stated simply before climbing inside, his tall form filling up the space of her rather cramped bedroom.

She gave a raspy laugh, her voice thick from sleep when she replied softly. "Yeah, well, someone mentioned that I should start locking it." Faintly she could see a small smirk cross his face, something so playful yet edgy when added to his devil costume. Speaking of which, she was able to see despite the dim light that his costume had in fact changed. "New digs? What happened to the black costume?" Winnie asked curiously before starting to move around him, their chests briefly brushing as she wiggled between him and the wall. Her heartbeat picked up for a moment, but she ignored the tingling sensation that spread through her from the contact to focus on finding the light switch.

"It was only temporary, didn't provide much protection." He explained quietly while Winnie finally found the lights. She blinked a few times, adjusting to the sudden brightness before turning back around to face the masked man.

"Oh. That's sad." Winnie blurted without much thought and although the masked man showed no change in expression, the green-eyed woman could tell through their faint connection that he was confused and worried by her statement. "Not that I want you getting hurt or anything! This new suit is great, very terrifying, probably great for intimidating bad guys." She quickly continued, cheeks flushing in embarrassment as she continued to speak without any sort of filter. "It's just that the other one was all mysterious and sexy… which probably doesn't matter as much when beating up bad guys…"

She trailed off awkwardly, not used to feeling such. This wasn't her playfully flirting with him to deflect any questions, this was her half asleep mind saying the first thing that popped into her head. Winnie was worried that Daredevil would turn around and just climb right out the window from which he came, but instead, a smug sort of smile spread across his visible features. "Are you afraid of this costume? Would it help if I took my clothes off?" Her mouth dropped open in surprise, having not expected the masked man to actually flirt back, before she groaned in embarrassment.

"Stop that! Only I can be cheeky, remember?" Her face was burning and she was praying the ground would open and swallow her when she finally noticed the awkward way in which the man before her held himself. He was leaning heavily on his right foot and she noticed that he hadn't really moved since coming into her room. Stepping forward she was quick to take his arm. "What's wrong with your foot?" Her voice was laced with concern, especially when the vigilante tensed up when she touched him, but after a brief pause, he loosened up and allowed himself to lean some of his weight onto her.

"My ankle, actually. It's broken." She gave a sigh, shaking her head as she helped him over to her bed to sit down. Winnie had a feeling the man wasn't allowing her to take much of his weight, but being much smaller than him she didn't complain.

Once he was sitting down she slid down onto the floor in front of him, very gently moving to his injured foot. He hissed when she touched it, fists balling in her bedsheets while she slowly untied his shoes and began to work the shoe off. "Sorry, sorry." She mumbled soothingly, taking her time to remove the shoe without causing him too much pain in the process. Finally, it was off and the blonde took a moment to let the masked vigilante relax again. "How'd it happen?" Her casual question a way to hopefully distract him from the pain.

"Fire escape gave out beneath me." He admitted with a sigh, sounding a tad embarrassed. "I was distracted, didn't take note of how rusted the securings were. Fell from about four stories up." Worry instantly flooded the young woman, wondering if he had any internal bleeding or other more serious injuries. Apparently the vigilante took notice because he leaned forward and quickly placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine. Just the broken ankle. If I could afford to let it heal naturally I would, but it's best if I not take any nights off."

Winnie was surprised since the man had never really touched her aside from the time he carried her to bed. She had always been the one to initiate contact, usually for healing, and when he carried her to bed it was more of out of thanks than wanting the physical contact. This was different, because he was touching her in comfort, and since she had connected to him twice from healing she knew he was trying to keep her from worrying. It was… nice. It was rare that someone considered her own well being.

Quickly the woman shook herself from these thoughts, needing to focus solely on healing the man in front of her. "Right. Broken bones, no problem." She assured him with false cheer as he retracted his hand.

"Really?" He replied skeptically, disbelief evident in his voice.

"Nah, they're a huge pain in the ass, but not nearly as tiring as a fatal wound. Last time you were here I got really tired since I was healing two injuries. This should be relatively easy." It was nice getting to explain what she did since most of the kids who came in just wanted her to 'do her magic' and leave.

As she began to gently peel off the man's sock to reveal his badly swollen ankle, he asked quietly. "Does it hurt?" For a moment she paused, the sock only half-way off as she considered his question and how she wanted to answer.

"... Yes. Sometimes." Winnie began thoughtfully, finally freeing the man's foot from his sock and slowly rolling up the bottom of his pants. "When I make that mental connection, I can feel what that person feels, at least for a little bit until I'm able to block it out." She explained in a very clinical way, not wanting the vigilante to believe she couldn't handle the pain of healing. She had lived with the pain her whole life.

"So when you've healed my other wounds-"

"Yes, I felt like I had been stabbed when I healed you the first time and yes, I felt my ribs were broken when I did it the second time." Winnie cut him off, not wanting to hear any pity or concern. She was a big girl and knew what she was doing. "But it's only for a couple minutes and it's necessary. Like I told you before, I need some kind of emotion to hang onto. Pain just happens to be the strongest emotion when someone is injured."

He didn't speak for a while, his stony mask once again in place so she couldn't exactly tell what he was thinking. She could, though, detect a small bit of guilt in his emotions. "What about if you used a memory?" His voice was soft and rough, pleasantly raspy as it always sounded. Winnie loved the way it seemed to fill her with something like excitement, or perhaps adrenaline was more accurate.

"It would… be easier. But that's still not an option for us." He accepted this with a stiff not, obviously not pleased but understanding there wasn't really much he could do. "Alright, go ahead and relax. I've got this." It took another couple of minutes for the vigilante to truly let go of the stress building inside him and become less tense.

The process was much quicker this time since their connection had only grown since she had first healed him. Even the temporary pain in her ankle wasn't so bad, nor was the strange moment in which all her senses, aside from her sight, heightened considerably. After pushing it all away, Winnie focused her efforts on mending the broken bones. Soothing warmth spread from her hands as she ran them over the man's ankle, her fingers pressing gently into the bruised skin as the bones began to slowly snap back into place and reconnect. The normal chill passed over her, but she ignored it and continued to run her hands over the masked man's ankle, eyes closed as her hand slid up slightly to feel his well-defined calf muscles. Perhaps she was taking advantage of the moment, but it wasn't like he was paying her for this or anything. Getting to feel his calf muscles were the best she was going to get.

Finally, she broke away, sighing as the connection disintegrated and her eyes slowly fluttered open. She couldn't be sure, since the man's new mask also covered his eyes, but it almost seemed like he was staring at her. There was something contemplative in his emotions, which were too frazzled for her to really read after tiring herself out. She expected him to say something, but instead he gave a small shake of his head and offered her a hand up. Winnie grasped his extended gloved hand, amused to see how it engulfed her much smaller hand before he hastily pulled her up to stand. The movement was too fast, causing her to teeter precariously, but another hand on her hip helped to keep her standing.

"Thanks." He snorted at her gratitude, shaking his head and helping her sit down beside him on the bed.

"That's my line." He replied with a touch of amusement. Winnie would have retorted in a sassy manner had he not kindly pulled the blankets up around her before leaning down to pull back on his sock and shoe. "Why are you so cold afterward?" The curiosity in his voice was underlined with worry, making the blonde smile.

"I'm cold while you're warm because, in a way, that's what I gave it to you." His silence was deafening, whereas the spike in his emotions seemed to scream. Daredevil's feelings were still a chaotic mess to Winnie, but they did not seem all that positive. "When I heal somebody I'm… giving up a piece of myself. Of my life." This statement only seemed to make things worse, not the intended effect. Quickly, Winnie tried to backpedal. "Don't worry, I'll be back to normal in an hour or so. Nothing I can't handle."

This didn't seem to comfort him either, in fact, Daredevil appeared even more frustrated by this. Suddenly he stood up and began to pace, marching back and forth across the old wooden floors of her bedroom apartment. "How can you-" He started, stopping in his pacing, only to shake his head and continue on. Winnie waited patiently, knowing that something was eating at the masked vigilante. "Why?" He finally decided on, stopping right in front of her.

"Pardon?" She replied with a frown, not understanding.

"Why are you-" With a sigh he brought a hand up to rub his jaw, something she had noted him doing before when in thought. "I don't understand why you're doing this." Apparently he sensed her confusion because he elaborated with a frown. "Why are you helping me? Especially if it causes you pain. I don't understand."

Winnie was surprised, honestly. People don't generally ask why she did what she did. Usually, they just thanked her and went on their way. It made her uncomfortable, being so unexpectedly put on the spot, and she quickly resorted to defensive humor. "Perhaps I'm a masochist. I did think your tight black crime fighting outfit was sexy in a dangerous sort of way."

The joke didn't go over very well because suddenly he was close to Winnie, his arms on either side of her as he leaned on the bed, effectively caging the young woman. Her eyes widened, heart beating wildly from the sudden close proximity. The eyes of his mask were completely black and the horns of his new red suit all added to his naturally intimidating stature. Most people would be terrified, absolutely shaken to the bone, but Winnie was just mildly surprised. Never had she been afraid of the masked man before, knowing he couldn't hurt her.

He could certainly try, but he wouldn't get very far.

"You have no reason to help me, so I need to be sure that this isn't a trick. I need to know why you're doing this." He stressed in a rather low voice, the frustration in his tone only making Winnie grow annoyed. "I need… to be able to trust you." He didn't move away, his hands clenching the bed sheets with barely controlled anger. Now that they were close, Winnie could feel it inside him. It was like he was on fire, the anger burning so bright, but beneath that she could also sense his fears and worries. The masked vigilante was scared for someone, his friends perhaps? This was the only way he knew to protect them.

Despite being aware of this, Winnie couldn't keep the bite out of her reply. "Did it ever occur to you that I'm just a good person? That when you came to my home dying I couldn't just turn you away because of my conscience?"

It was another evasive reply and he knew it. "Don't test me…" He began in a warning tone, only further setting off the smaller blonde.

"No, you don't test _me_." She snapped in response, leaning in till their faces were incredibly close. "I'm not one of your back alley thugs that you can intimidate into getting what you want. I am somebody who has done nothing but help you. So if you're suspicious, if you don't trust me, then talk to me." Winnie was practically growling, her blood boiling as she quickly lost her temper. "Your threats won't work because I'm not afraid of you."

She could feel the shock go through him, as well as annoyance, since he was losing control of the situation. "You think I won't hurt you?" He tried to make it seem like a warning, and by all accounts he looked the part, but Winnie still had a hold on his emotions and felt no sincerity in his threat.

"Go ahead and try. You'd be dead before I even bruised." The words fell from her mouth in an icy assurance. It wasn't a lie, she meant it with all of her heart. Winnie would defend herself no matter the consequences.

It wouldn't be the first time.

For a long time, they both sat there, Winnie softly panting from anger while the Devil's shoulders rose and fell with barely contained rage while each person processed everything that had just been said. The blond knew why the masked man was so upset; he was worried about his secret getting out and hurting people, his friends perhaps? Had he simply come to her with these fears she would have been more than happy to talk to him, but his threats had only angered and upset her, causing her to lash out instead.

Finally, after what felt like years but what could have only been a few minutes, the tension seemed to seep out of the crime-fighter and quickly be replaced by a sort of bone-weariness that Winnie knew well. She felt it just as much as she saw it when he finally got control of his raging emotions, watching warily as he pulled away from her and chose to lean against the wall across from her instead. He was still close, but now far enough away that the blonde could relax.

"I don't heal you because this is some convoluted plot to get your trust then kill you." She began bluntly, feeling the man across from her tense up all over again. "Because if I wanted you dead I could have done it several times already. My gift isn't about healing and love or whatever. It's about life. Giving life… or taking it." In that moment all the emotion drained out of her voice, shoulders slumping with resignation as she admitted one of her darkest secrets. Never had she told someone about the flipside of her ability, the option to take like she gave, but in that moment, she knew it was what the Daredevil needed in order to trust her enough not to kill him. "So I guess that's why I heal people. Why I heal you. Because it makes me feel like less of a monster." It was only half of the reason, but she didn't feel like sharing much more with him after their little spat. She was still too angry, too raw and hurt from his distrust.

She felt his guilt and was glad for it because he should feel bad. He had pushed her too far, past what she was willing to speak about. "Is that why you go out at night, saving people and torturing bad men?" Winnie couldn't stop herself from pressing for more information, wanting to dig into Daredevil as he had with her. "Does it help quiet your own demons?" He didn't respond, but she knew by the clenching of his jaw that she'd hit the nail right on the head, or at least fairly close. When he didn't respond she decided that it was time to call it a night.

"I'm going to bed now." Her words were robotic, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions she couldn't bother to sort through tonight. She lay down on the bed, the blanket wrapped tightly around her small body as the masked man slowly moved off the wall. He had just opened the window when she spoke once more, not wanting to leave things on such a sour note despite everything. "Be careful out there."

He stiffened for a moment, guilt once again building inside him, before finally the devil disappeared out into the night.

* * *

Matt hadn't been able to shake the feeling of guilt since last seeing Angel.

It wasn't as if he didn't try, but throwing himself into his work, meditating, and beating criminals to a pulp did nothing to soothe his anxious thoughts. Not once had he stopped thinking about everything he had learned, especially now that he knew the woman was by no means perfectly innocent. She had spoken about killing as if it was the weather and when she had informed Matt that she could have taken his life at any time, there was no lie in her words. By no means was she afraid of him and with complete sincerity she believed herself to be a monster, despite the good she had done. It wasn't only that, oh no, because he had also learned that each time she healed him it caused her pain! He had suspected such after seeing her heal him the first time while conscious, along with the sudden loss of warmth. The blind man was displeased that he hadn't realized sooner and even more displeased that Angel had never told him about the effects healing had on her own health until now.

Nothing was more frustrating to Matt than a puzzle he couldn't solve, especially when it began to interfere with his day life. Foggy was concerned, as always, and even Karen had asked what had him distracted. Perhaps that was why he ended up at church during his lunch break, sitting in the familiar pews and trying in a last ditch effort to sort out his thoughts. It wasn't long before Father Lantom joined him in the pews, quietly providing Matt with comfort while also silently offering advice.

After a few moments, the brunette lawyer gave in, sighing as he leaned back into the pew. "Father, I am conflicted." He stated simply, his mind buzzing with thoughts of the mysterious woman.

"And what has caused this conflict within you?" He responded patiently, still facing forward in the pews as Matt gave a heavy sigh.

"A woman."

Father Lantom couldn't hold back his soft snort of amusement. "These are not the kind of troubles you usually bring to me. It's almost refreshing." Though he spoke in the same calm tone as before, Matt was able to hear the teasing quality of his words.

"Not exactly what you're thinking, Father." Matt replied with a tight smile, idly wrapping the strap on the end of his cane around his fingers.

"Oh, I don't know about that." The older man replied playfully, relaxing into their familiar bit of banter. "I wasn't always a priest, you know." The lawyer chuckled softly, knowing that Father Lantom was only joking in hopes of soothing Matt's troubled thoughts.

The happiness was short lived and soon the brunette was back to why he originally came. "She knows me by another name, Father, but she doesn't fear me. In fact, she has helped me on many occasions." Father Lantom turned serious, as he always did when Matt brought up the Daredevil. It was never anything they fully voiced, but it wasn't something that really needed to be said aloud anyways. "I was afraid that her kindness was just an act, that she actually planned to do me harm."

For a moment, it was quiet as the priest thought this over before quietly asking. "You no longer believe theses things?" Matt was surprised by how fast the answer came to him.

"Yes, I believe she truly did wish to help me without motive. Maybe as some sort of… repentance. I don't know what for, though." It was true. Perhaps he had jumped to his own conclusions too soon, something he very rarely did. Matt was known for getting all the evidence before writing somebody off, yet that is exactly what he had done with the kind healer. Something about her just set him on edge, but in the aftermath of their last meeting, he realized that maybe he had been too hard on her, especially towards the end of the night.

And yet she had still wished for him to be safe.

"You speak as if this woman will no longer want to help you." The brunette tilted his head at Father Lantom's statement, knowing that couldn't be the end of it. "Have you harmed this woman?" There was no judgment in the priest's voice, only the disappointed resignation that came with hearing years and years of confessions.

Matt shook his head, then paused. He may not have physically hurt the woman, and never planned to despite his threats, but it wasn't a stretch to assume he caused her a different kind of pain. "I may have upset her. Broken what little trust we had in each other." It was hard to admit, but Matt did feel a bit less guilty after saying it all out loud. Deep down he had known that pushing the woman into explaining her reasons was wrong, yet at the time, he had been too consumed with worry for his identity and the safety of his friends to really care.

"I see. Well, I am no authority on women," The priest began in a lighter tone, more than likely pleased that Matt had not resulted to physical violence with an innocent. "But I do believe the protocol in such situations is to simply… apologize." The blind man held back a groan, having expected this already but not wishing to see it through. He knew at some point he would need to return to Angel and mend bridges, but he was not looking forward to it. If Matt was one thing, it was incredibly stubborn. Getting stabbed again sounded more pleasurable than admitting he was in the wrong.

"Thank you, Father, you have given me a lot to consider." He replied pleasantly, receiving a soft hum from the priest in response. Knowing it was about time he return to the office, Matt slowly rose from the pew and began to make his exit, the soft _tap tap_ of his cane against the pews leading him from the familiar church.

* * *

 **Now don't worry, this won't be the last we see of Daredevil! But there will be an obvious change coming in the next few chapters caused by their fight. Did you enjoy their argument? Or do you prefer when they were being flirty? Or maybe both? I bet some of you will have more questions about Winnie's powers and let me assure you they do have their limits, but you'll just have to keep reading to discover the true extent of her healing.**

 **I also want to go ahead and say sorry if you feel like I didn't get Father Lantom correct. He was more difficult to write than even Foggy, since he only has a few scenes and I have yet to finish Season 2 (I'm only on like episode 3), but I really wanted to include him and show how Matt was struggling. It's not easy being a masked vigilante who pisses off his only healer.**

 **As always, review with any questions or suggestions and I will get back to you ASAP. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Everybody Talks

**Okay so this chapter (and the next few) are a little different from the previous few! Things are about to get a lot more complicated.**

 **Thanks to vxmpire, ninjaonfire, Vanessa, and Willow who reviewed last chapter! Special thanks to Willow who pointed something out to me abotu my writing (I'm trying to be more aware of it now).**

* * *

Chapter 4 - Everybody Talks

The days after Winnie's last meeting with Daredevil were tough.

She was irritable, more aggressive than normal, and found herself moping around the apartment more than once. It wasn't as if she hadn't tried to get the masked vigilante off her mind, especially while at work when she should have been focusing on her patients, but the red devil just wouldn't leave her thoughts.

Until Rebecca called, of course.

It had been in the middle of the night, prompting Winnie to answer with a rather grouchy snarl of, "What?!" Before the tearful voice of Rebecca Smith filled her ear.

" _I-I'm so sorry, I know i-it's late but I just- I don't know what to do."_ The woman had sobbed into the phone, immediately waking up Winnie and causing her roll out of bed. She mentally swore out of frustration before quickly moving around her room to get dressed.

"Becca, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Winnie was familiar with the young woman's rather violent boyfriend and wondered if the asshole had hurt the crying woman. "Is it Tyler? Rebecca do I need to call the cops?" She continued to gently question the anguished woman, already slipping on a pair of tennis shoes and her familiar burgundy coat.

Finally, Winnie got her response. " _No, d-don't call the cops. I finally kicked Tyler out, b-but he didn't want to go a-and now-"_ Rebecca was quickly growing more emotional, breaking off in gasps and sobs, so without a second thought, Winnie grabbed the keys from their glass bowl and headed out of her apartment.

"Rebecca, listen to me, I'm on my way over now. Once I get there we'll talk more about what needs to be done. Until then just stay calm, alright?" Winnie must have gotten through to the distressed woman since her breathing calmed and she gave a shaky affirmative. Still, Winnie decided to stay on the phone just in case as she speedily jogged through the dark streets of Hell's Kitchen to Rebecca's apartment.

* * *

Rebecca was an old friend of Winnie's from high school, back when she hadn't been in such a good place. The two women hadn't really stayed in touch since Winnie was busy going to college for psychology and Rebecca had stayed back to run her family's bakery. Regardless, though, she had insisted Rebecca keep her number just in case the brunette ever needed help, something she was very glad for now. Winnie remembered Rebecca being a very happy girl, which was why it made the blonde so upset when her first sight of Rebecca was with the young woman sporting a black eye and busted lip. Winnie swore she saw red; the apartment was an absolutely wreck and the tall brunette looked terrified when she answered the door. It just made Winnie so angry to see what had been done to her old friend. Rebecca had always been pretty, the soft girl-next-door kind of pretty that made her look approachable and, sadly, easy to manipulate.

It was no shock that Tyler, Rebecca's on and off boyfriend of several years, had turned out to be the asshole they all expected. Winnie had never liked him, not in high school when the two began dating and certainly not now. In fact, had Rebecca not needed her, Winnie would have undoubtedly gone and tracked the dirtbag down so she could break his nose.

Instead, Winnie spent her whole night with Rebecca on the couch, letting the girl sob into her arms and retell exactly what had happened. Apparently after their normal evening fight the brunette had tried to kick her boyfriend out of the apartment, only to be roughly manhandled for the demand. Had a neighbor not come knocking at the door it was likely that Tyler would still be trying to 'slap some sense into her', as Rebecca quoted him saying. Winnie also noticed the bruising around her friend's throat but chose not to bring it up unless the other woman was ready to talk about it.

More than anything she wanted to heal her friend, the need was almost overpowering, but she couldn't. The police needed to see exactly what Tyler had done. There was also another selfish part of Winnie that simply didn't want her friend to know. She hadn't let anyone from her past know about her abilities, even her best friend Miranda wasn't aware. If they knew, they might start asking questions, making connections, and the young healer never handled rejection all that well. The risk was too much, so she left her friend looking battered for her own selfish reasons and so the police had evidence. Eventually, after lots of sobbing, Winnie managed to gently convince her friend to call the authorities so they could file a report.

Only, they never got the chance, because soon the police came knocking at the door.

Winnie answered it, surprised to see the two cops standing outside with grim faces. She assumed that the neighbor from earlier had called them, but that theory went out the window when they said Rebecca would be needed down at the station to answer some questions. Apparently Tyler had already gone to his cop friends at the station and told his own twisted rendition of the events.

"What?! Look at her!" The blonde's angry demands went unheard as Rebecca cowered behind her, a surprising feat since the brunette was nearly 6 foot while Winnie barely reached 5'6. "She's obviously the one that's been attacked! Not that asshole!"

The police proved no help, though, and regretfully informed her that Tyler had gone straight to the police after the altercation, so the police had to give him the benefit of the doubt until other evidence proved otherwise. After seeing the state Rebecca was in, the officers seemed less than enthused about bringing the young woman in, but they had to follow procedure even if it all pointed as Tyler being the main instigator of the fight. Had Rebecca called first things may have been different, but now it would be up to the investigators at the station, or potentially a jury, to decide who was really at fault in this fight.

Winnie nearly screamed in frustration when she was told this, standing in the middle of the hallway as her friend was taken away by the officers. She angrily kicked a random door, then yelped at the pain it caused her. Stupid, she knew she should have called the police immediately since Tyler had friends on the force, but Rebecca didn't have an antagonistic bone in her body. The brunette just hadn't been able to bring herself to call the police on her now ex, probably on some level hoping that she and Tyler would still be able to work out their issues.

Winnie was just about to march down to the police station when the door she had just kicked opened to reveal an older gentleman, wrinkled face showing many years of wear as he eyed her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to… I'm just… frustrated." She sighed and hung her head in shame, agitatedly running a hand through her loose blonde curls.

The old man huffed and returned to his apartment, only to come back a few moments later with a business card in hand. "Here. Sounds like Mrs. Smith will be needing a lawyer, and these two are good people." He held out the small card with a scowl, which Winnie warily accepted after a few moments. Her eyes read the name _Nelson and Murdock_ without recognizing it, meaning it was more than likely a smaller firm. "Cheap too. If the little lady needs a witness or anything, I was here the whole night. Heard it all through the walls." The older gentleman spoke gruffly, but there was a softness to his eyes as he nodded towards Rebecca's apartment. "She's a sweet girl. Deserves better than that douchebag."

Winnie wasn't sure what was more surprising, Rebecca being arrested or this little old man saying 'douchebag'. Quickly she stuttered out her thanks, receiving a 'humph' from the old man who turned around to go back inside.

"I'd get changed before you set off." He called back over his shoulder, reminding Winnie that she was wearing a pair of pajama pants with little yellow ducks, a ratty old band shirt, and no bra.

What a lovely start to her morning.

It was a good thing her apartment was on the way to Nelson and Murdock's office, allowing Winnie to hurry inside and change into new clothes like a tornado. She brushed her teeth and pulled on a knee length white circle skirt at the same time, hastily tucking in her navy button up blouse before spitting into the sink. Just before leaving the apartment she slipped on her most comfortable flats, grabbed her satchel and keys, then set back off. She'd have rather gone straight to the attorney's office, but knew showing up half-dressed and without any money may not look too good.

Winnie practically jogged her way to their office, pausing outside the door to read the glass plate with the names of the two lawyers while quickly fixing her hair. She took a few calming breaths before finally opening up the door, her anxiety only climbing the longer Rebecca was being held up at the station. A strawberry blonde stood behind a small desk, busily organizing papers when Winnie entered. The woman, a secretary perhaps, glanced up in surprise. She almost looked shocked to have clients coming in, which didn't do much to reassure Winnie that this small law office was right for her friend.

"Oh, hello! I'm Karen Page, how can I help you?" She asked politely, coming around the desk to stand in front of Winnie with a friendly smile. She had pretty blue eyes and wore a professional yet fun green dress with small white polka dots. All in all, she was very gentle in appearance, doing well to soothe Winnie's frazzled nerves.

"I need some assistance. My friend was just taken in for questioning by the police." Winnie wasted no time, jumping right into her explanation with vigor. "Her boyfriend beat her pretty badly, but he went to the police before she did and claimed that he was attacked. I'll pay whatever is necessary, just please get someone down there to defend her." Some of the desperation crept into her voice, causing the other woman's blue eyes to grow soft in understanding.

Karen opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by the door opening behind Winnie to reveal a man with shaggy blonde hair and a large smile followed by a much taller man carrying a cane. The second man, who was considerably handsome, wore round red tinted glasses to hide his eyes and used the cane in his hand to find his way around, letting Winnie know he was blind. He had a slight smile on his face, but something about it seemed forced to her, the way his jaw remained clenched shut as he stepped into the room.

"Ooooh, who's this? A client?" The first man spoke, forcing Winnie to drag her eyes away from the attractive brunette and focus on the man addressing her.

"Yes, she is! Her friend is currently being accused of domestic violence. This is... I'm sorry, I didn't get your name." The blue eyed blonde quickly filled in the two men, who Winnie assumed were the lawyers, before turning her attention back to the other woman.

Winnie nodded her head and quickly stepped forward, holding her hand out to the first man. "Winnie Adalbern. I'm here for my friend, as Ms. Page said. She's down at the police station right now and I would appreciate your assistance as soon as possible." She wasted no time explaining the situation, wanting to get back to Rebecca as quickly as possible.

The blond man grasped her hand in his own, giving it a quick shake as a large smile enveloped his face. "Franklin Nelson, but please, call me Foggy." He introduced himself before gesturing to his dark haired friend. "This is my associate, Matt Murdock." Without much thought, Winnie held out her hand for the other man to shake as well. There was an awkward pause as she soon remembered the man was _blind_ for God's sake, but was thankfully saved by Foggy mumbling "Hand." and nudging his partner.

"It's a pleasure, Ms. Adalbern." Matt's voice was pleasantly rough and he instantly held out his hand, allowing Winnie to firmly grasp it in her own for a quick shake. She was surprised by how rough they were, calloused like a working man's hands and not that of a lawyer. Still, it was rather irrelevant, and after the handshake was through she jumped right back to business.

"It's Dr. Adalbern, actually, but Winnie will be fine. So will you take the case?" The blind man showed no signs that her jumps in the conversation were abnormal, though his partner did raise his brows in surprise. "Rebecca is a sweet girl, she doesn't deserve this. I _know_ she's innocent, so please, I'll pay whatever you want as long as you get down there to defend her as soon as possible." The two lawyers still looked unconvinced, (though the blond did perk up when she mentioned money), so Winnie carried on passionately. "Look her boyfriend, Tyler, is a complete tool. He's violent, egotistical, and has a warped sense of entitlement. That's my _professional_ opinion on him; my personal views involve far more… colorful adjectives."

The handsome blind lawyer raised both eyebrows, looking in her general direction with curiosity. "Your 'professional opinion'?"

Winnie nodded her head, then realizing once again he could not see, she spoke aloud to clarify. "I'm a psychologist. I'd be willing to give a statement, if it comes to that, as well as a neighbor of Rebecca's." Foggy seemed excited, but reserved, like he was trying to hold back for the moment. Meanwhile, his partner seemed a bit… distracted, like there was something more important on his mind than the potential case.

"Technically we can't accept the case till we actually speak to your friend." Foggy began slowly, thinking over something as Matt quickly continued for him.

"But we would be happy to meet her at the station and discuss the possibility of representing her." He gave a kind smile, which Winnie instantly returned full force. Relief flooded through her, even though the two men could still potentially turn down the case after speaking to Rebecca.

Then again, a quick look around the office told Winnie how very new their establishment was. There were boxes still packed up and papers spread out across Ms. Page's desk, as the trio were still settling in it seemed. They probably needed all the cases they could get. "Thank you, I really appreciate this. If you don't mind, I would like to tag along. I want to be there just in case Rebecca needs me." Her tone, though polite, left no room for argument as she passed between the two male lawyers on her way out the door. "I'll go hail a cab while you two gentlemen get whatever you'll need for the trip." Foggy seemed surprised by how she took charge, but Matt simply seemed a bit amused, as if he had expected it.

"Right, sounds good. We'll be right down." The blond man replied after recovering from his momentary surprise. Winnie sent him one last smile before hurrying out of the office to go find them a ride.

* * *

"She seemed nice." Foggy commented cheerfully as he and Matt left the office, leaving Karen behind to finish tidying up the paperwork some. The brunette had been oddly quiet ever since they had found the pretty blonde in their office, something that befuddled Foggy. Usually Matt was his normal charming self with a female client, getting them to open up about the case, but this time he had been surprisingly subdued.

Well, besides doing the hand thing. Cheeky bastard knew that girl had her hand out, just wanted to make her squirm, undoubtedly.

While Foggy mulled over what was wrong with his best friend. Matt was barely containing his panic. He hadn't been paying close enough attention, he should have been more aware of who was waiting in their office and not on what was happening in the city around him. On their way up to the office, he had heard her but hadn't quite been able to place her voice while Foggy spoke about Josie's. His best friend had been trying to convince Matt to take a night off and go with him and Karen to the bar for some drinks, but part-time vigilante wasn't willing to give up his night time activities.

It wasn't till Foggy opened the door and Matt finally took note of the sweet smell of honeysuckle and peppermint tea that he realized his mistake. He had almost frozen in place, so shocked to find the one woman plaguing his thoughts in his office, talking to Karen of course. For a terrifying moment, he suspected she was here to expose his secret, to tell Karen and everybody else that he was the masked vigilante. He quickly waived this idea - there was no way she could know he was Daredevil - but the fear had temporarily shaken him and made it hard to speak to her, let alone dazzle her with his usual charm. Instead, he had been stiff, a bit too robotic, though he did remember not to immediately reach out to shake her hand when she offered it. Not only would it have looked suspicious, but it always proved to embarrass the person offering their hand, something Matt would usually take slight amusement in.

Just before they would have left the building, Matt stopped his friend with a hand on his shoulder. They were alone in the lobby of their building and Matt could tell no one would be coming by for a while. "It's her." He stated bluntly, needing Foggy to know exactly what was up in case things took a turn for the worse. It was possible this was all some complicated ruse to get Matt and Foggy to the police station and be turned in, although he hadn't heard any lie from her heartbeat. Perhaps he was being paranoid, but the blind man had no plans of putting his best friend at risk.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Foggy replied in a slightly confused tone, turning to face his long time friend after a moment. "Are you having some sort of epiphany? Love at first handshake?" He could hear the teasing quality of Foggy's voice, almost making Matt sigh. Of course, Foggy would mistake his sudden change in demeanor to be an attraction for the woman and not anxiety. Then again, the two emotions went almost hand in hand at times. "You've barely said ten words to the girl, Matt. I think it might be too early to admit your undying love for her."

"Foggy, it's Angel." He cut his friend off with a sigh, instantly feeling the shift in his friend as the other man became much more serious. His shoulders tensed and the slight quickening of his heart rate spoke it all. "That's her, I'm certain."

There was a lengthy pause as his friend digested this news, one hand raised to nervously drag through his hair. Finally, his response came, though it did nothing to calm Matt's agitated nerves. "I knew it." Foggy shook his head and gave a loud scoff, as if he had guessed something correctly but had hoped to be wrong.

"What?" Matt grounded out in surprise, wondering what the hell his friend was speaking about.

"She's beautiful! Just like I predicted! Seriously, Matt, she's all blonde curls and green eyes. She's short too; you could just scoop her up and run off! And don't even get me started on her legs-"

Matt nearly groaned, having to bite his cheek to avoid doing so as he wondered how his friend could be thinking about _that_ at a time like this. "Foggy," He cut him off quickly, not wanting to waste any more time. Angel - _Winnie -_ was more than likely waiting for them to get out there, in fact, Matt could hear the impatient tapping of her foot on the sidewalk outside. "Not the time. She can't find out my secret, not after how I left things." Though Matt didn't see her as the vengeful type, he couldn't take any chances. Who knew what she would do if she happened to accidentally discovered his secret now.

"Alright, alright, but I think you're missing out on a golden opportunity here," Foggy replied quickly, his hands raised in mock surrender as he continued in an innocent tone. "If you're having trouble getting to know Angel… maybe you should focus on getting to know Winnie instead." His enthusiastic best friend wrapped an arm around his shoulders, stretching up due to Matt's considerable height. "Just think about it! The other guy might be great at intimidating information out of bad guys, but Matthew Murdock is an _expert_ when it comes to cross-examining beautiful women with-"

"With questionable character, I know." Matt finished for Foggy, sighing in resignation. Maybe his friend had a point. Daredevil wasn't having much luck figuring Angel out, but maybe Matt could get to know Winnie. It would be a risk since the young woman seemed rather sharp, but it might be the only way Matt got her off his mind.

Foggy seemed to realize he had Matt thinking about the idea because he continued on. "This could be your chance to have a completely honest relationship. She might be exactly what you're looking for, or maybe not, but you'll only get so far lying to her." His tone took on an edge, reminding Matt once again how their friendship had almost been ruined by lies and secrets. But his situation with Angel was different. There was no way Matt could just trust her with his secret, no matter how Foggy twisted the situation. He didn't know her, not really.

But part of him wanted to.

"I'll think about it." He finally agreed. The blind man could practically feel the knowing smirk Foggy now wore as they parted and headed for the door.

"Uh huh, I'm sure you will."

* * *

Winnie had hailed a cab (after many failed attempts and lots of swearing) and now waited restlessly outside of said cab, foot tapping as she glanced once again at her watch. They were certainly taking their time and she wondered how much longer she could keep the grouchy cab driver here as they seemed to take the longest route out of the building.

"Look, lady, if your friends aren't comi-"

"They'll be here." She snapped in return, turning her green-eyed glare upon the irritated cab driver, who had rolled down the passenger window and was leaning across the seat to speak with her. Winnie was considering letting him go and finding a more pleasant driver when the door finally opened up, making her whirl back around to face the two lawyers. "Oh good, I was wondering if perhaps you'd gotten lost in your own building." Maybe she was being a bit too harsh, but Rebecca had been at the station for nearly an hour and a half by this point, making her quite quick to anger. Despite that, her voice remained polite, if not a bit strained.

"Sorry, blind guy." Foggy quickly excused them, his partner's head cocking to the side in a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

Winnie narrowed her eyes at the blond man, hands shifting to her hips. "Really? Sounds like a cheap excuse to me." She challenged him without fear since they both were radiating a mixture of guilt and worry that Winnie felt upon reaching out her senses. It was odd that she felt their emotions so easily. Every day she dealt with blocking out the emotions of people in the city, leaving the world slightly muted in an attempt to act as a normal person, but some people had emotions so strong she just couldn't help but _feel_ them. Foggy seemed like a fairly open guy, which would explain why his emotions weren't all that hard to pick up on, but his friend seemed far more reserved. Usually, a case like his would take her time to read, needing them to open up slightly before she started picking up on their feelings.

Foggy laughed loudly, apparently amused and a bit nervous by her claim. "Alright, you got us. We were talking about you!" Matt's head snapped around in his friend's direction and Winnie noted how a muscle in his jaw seemed to jump. She didn't need to reach out to feel the irritation clearly pouring off the dark haired male, along with worry and a typhoon of other rather negative emotions. Jeez, this guy was a blender of unhappy feelings, kind of like someone else she knew… "Matt was pretty interested in hearing what you looked like. Not every day a beautiful woman comes to our office, besides Karen of course."

Winnie was taken back by the statement, losing her previous train of thought as she focused her attention back on the shorter man. That would certainly explain their guilty emotions and the blind lawyers obvious discomfort. "What? Oh, I…" She had been thrown off and as such, couldn't come up with any kind of quick witted response. A blush spread across her face and she couldn't stop from letting out a slightly embarrassed laugh. "Uh, we should get going. Rebecca is waiting." Winnie wanted to smack herself for the awkward change in topic. The cab driver mumbling "about damn time" under his breath did nothing to settle her nerves, so he received another icy glare from her.

The blond lawyer gave a good-natured chuckle before climbing into the open cab, Winnie followed being the smallest of the trio and knowing she'd have to sit in the middle, her satchel resting upon her lap so there was enough room. A moment later Matt's head popped into view, but his hand reached out blindly for the car seat while the other held onto the roof of the cab. Without a pause, Winnie reached out and gently grasped his hand in her own before leading it to the car seat. In the brief moments their skin touched, Winnie was able to clearly feel his surprise and wariness, almost as if he thought her kindness was just a cover for something else. "I'd duck a tad more unless you'd like a headache." She instructed in a slightly playful tone, not wanting the man to feel like she was babying him due to his blindness. Pity had never sat well with Winnie, so she didn't use it with others.

He sent her a gracious smile before maneuvering into the cab, the walking cane positioned between his legs as he grabbed onto the seat belt. Winnie, being squished between both men in the tiny cab, accepted the seatbelt from him so that she could buckle it. This way there wasn't a chance of Matt accidentally copping a feel from her in the process.

Not that she would have really minded.

She buckled in herself, Foggy doing the same, before the cab pulled away from the sidewalk and started on its way, Winnie having already told him where to go. It was quiet at first, uncomfortably so, as the two lawyers and the young woman looked anywhere but each other. "So Winnie, that's kind of an odd name." Foggy began conversationally, obviously trying to dispel some of the awkward tension between the three. Winnie only wished he had started with something less embarrassing - like her disastrous Junior Prom or one of her awful blind dates.

"Yeah. It's a nickname. " She hoped to leave it at that, but Foggy was looking at her all hopefully and Matt proved to be no help whatsoever, simply gazing blankly ahead as his round red glasses hid his eyes. "For Winifred. It's Welsh." She sighed softly and made sure to mumble her actual name, hoping the lawyer would simply drop it. But of course, he didn't.

Foggy gave a cheerful smile, though his eyes were alight with devilish mirth. "Winifred? Why not go by Fred? Or Freddie?" She cringed at the awful nickname, shaking her head fervently.

"Oh no, no, no. I made sure to kill that nickname when I got out of high school and finished my tomboy phase." The boisterous lawyer let out another laugh at her expense, though Winnie didn't really mind. Foggy was very obviously a people person, his mixture of blunt humor and dry sarcasm something she could certainly appreciate. Plus, he was cute as a button with a round face and shaggy blond hair. Quite the opposite of his partner, who was all sharp edges and dark mystery.

"You had a tomboy phase?" Matt finally spoke up, his voice quietly curious as a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Something about the way he fought off the smile filled Winnie with determination, wanting nothing more than to get the more reserved lawyer to really smile and laugh.

"Yeah, my mum hated it of course. She used to dress me up in these white dresses for church on Sunday, pretty things with flowers, made from some fancy fabric. Anyways, she swore that she'd look away for five minutes, and next thing she knew I was in the backyard covered in mud with only twenty minutes till mass started." Winnie spoke fondly of her mother and the early mornings when the family would get ready for church. It was always a whirlwind of activity and Winnie, as a child, complained endlessly at having to wake up so early, but they were now some of her best memories.

Matt nodded thoughtfully, a small smile finally appearing on his face. Winnie took as a victory, even if a tiny one at that. "Oh, are you Catholic?" Foggy asked with playful curiosity, his eyes darting to Matt as he spoke. Winnie cocked her head to the side, looking curiously between the two. "Matt here is a good ol' Catholic boy. He's practically an expert at the whole 'broody catholic guilt' thing." Winnie gave a small giggle at Foggy's teasing, watching as Matt's happy smile was replaced with a more sarcastic one.

She could tell they were very good friends, and not just because their emotions told her so. The way they interacted was so very similar to how she and Miranda acted around each other, always calling each other out and playfully teasing. Winnie's amusement was short-lived, however, because Foggy was still waiting for an answer, making Winnie quickly sober up.

"I'm not such a devoted Catholic; I was never confirmed or anything. My mother was the only reason we even went to church, but after she passed away…" Winnie shifted slightly in her seat, a deep sadness filling her at the thought of her mother. She tried not to think about it very often, but it was hard to avoid when discussing her childhood. "She was from Wales, immigrated as a teenager without any of her family. Used to say the only familiar thing she could find in America was her religion, so she stayed rather devoted to the church." It was easier to talk about her mother when it didn't involve her death, so Winnie casually changed the direction of the topic.

The two had quieted when she spoke, listening quietly to the description of her mother. Finally, Matt broke the silence that had fallen between them. "She sounds lovely," Winnie smiled softly and nodded her head in response, even though he couldn't see. Suddenly another smile curled at his lips, though he continued to face forwards as he added rather charmingly. "You must take after her a great deal."

A small laugh bubbled out of Winnie, cheeks once again flushed. "Are you always this charming with your clients?" She replied equally flirty, glad Matt had redirected the conversation.

"You're the friend of a client." He corrected glibly, his smile twisting into a playful smirk. It caused Winnie to laugh again, the tightness in her chest loosening slightly at the man's flirtatious remarks.

"Alright you two, keep it in your pants. We're almost there." Foggy interjected in a slightly sarcastic tone, amusement lacing his voice. The woman sitting between the two lawyers only blushed further at his words while Matt gave a small scowl of annoyance. True to his word, the cab stopped right outside of the police department and the trio began to exit the vehicle. After Matt stepped out onto the sidewalk, he turned around and held out his hand for Winnie, who gladly accepted it. It wasn't till they entered the police department that the two lawyers broke away from the blonde woman to go find her friend. She bid them good luck before sitting down in the waiting area. They told her it might take some time, so Winnie sat back and did her best to relax.

* * *

 **So how does everyone feel about this change? Matt will now be in the next few chapters instead of Daredevil, but don't worry, our masked vigilante will see Angel again! I'd love to hear back from everybody about this turn of events and also be mindful that I am not a law student. These next few chapters involve some law stuff I don't really know about, but I am running most things past my Government teacher. If any of you are law students or lawyers I'd love some feedback and help. I'm also not a pschologist, so feel free to correct me on anything like that as well.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	5. Author Note - Title Change

Hey, readers! Sorry this isn't an update, but I wanted to make a post and let you all know about a change I had to make.

Already a couple of you might had noticed the title of this story has changed and that's not by mistake. It was brought to my attention that another Matt/OC story was also named _Your Hands Can Heal, Your Hands Can Bruise_. This is totally my fault, as I named my story after this author named theirs and failed to check other stories in the Daredevil fandom for the same title. I messaged the author about this and they were very understanding, but politely asked me to change my title. I have no problem doing this since I was the one to name my story second and it is very important to an author to have a title special to their story. I just wanted you all to be informed of what happened. Hopefully, you won't all be confused by the change in the title!

 **TLDR:** The title is changing from _Your Hands Can Heal, Your Hands Can Bruise_ to _Poison and Wine_ , which is the song from where the original title came.

Sorry about any confusion and I hope you can all forgive me for my little fumble!

\- HailHathNoFury


	6. Chapter 5 - I've Got This Friend

**Woah, what is this? An update literally two years later?**

 **Hi everyone, as you might have guessed, this story has been dead for a while. I graduated High School and have been at college for the last two years. Obviously writing fanfiction was low on my priority list, and it still is, however...**

 **I just want to thank** **Ryuno chu** **for being so incredibly encouraging and never giving up on me. Their messages have been what made me update. I already had this and one additional chapter written from two years ago that I never posted. I can't promise anything more after these two chapters, but who knows, maybe my love for Matt and Winnie will be rekindled. Either way, it's all thanks to them that I am even posting these.**

 **So, without further ado, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5 - I've Got This Friend

After several tedious phone calls (informing her patients that because of a family emergency they would need to reschedule their meetings for the day) and one long call to Miranda, who had also been close to Rebecca, Winnie was officially out of things to do. She had tried to read the news on her phone or organize her bag, a lost effort really when she turned to the current desk sergeant for entertainment. They had struck up conversation, after a few awkward failed attempts by Winnie, and now another officer had even stopped to chat with them. It was good for keeping the blonde's mind off of the current predicament, even if the male officer who had joined them was a bit overbearing.

He was new to the force, a rookie, that had been brought in after the downfall of Frisk. Many of the officers had been exposed for taking bribes they were quickly kicked from the force, opening up new positions for young men and women like Officer Baker. With a wild mess of red hair and a smattering of freckles, he was undeniably cute but very obviously young. Perhaps not so much an age, but definitely emotionally. He wore a bright smile and spoke about how great it was to work on the force, to be doing the right thing and helping people. It was kind of sad, Winnie couldn't help but think. One day he'd realize how corrupt the system truly was.

Their conversation was interrupted by Rebecca suddenly coming around the corner, the two lawyers following her, before making a beeline for Winnie. The blonde had only just excused herself from the two cops when the tall brunette wrapped up her green-eyed friend in a tight hug, tears still covering her bruised cheeks and her pajamas in a messy disarray. "Winnie! You waited!" She sounded so absolutely relieved and Winnie felt better for having stuck out the rather long wait.

"Course I did. What kind of friend would I be if I just abandoned you with a pair of sharks." Winnie raised her voice slightly, a smirk playing on her lips as she watched the two lawyers chuckle at her barb.

"Oh come on _Freddie_ , I thought we had something special." Foggy placed a hand over his heart as if wounded, but his smug grin said he knew exactly what he was doing. An indignant gasp was pulled from the young woman, who didn't pause before lightly slapping the blond lawyer's arm. Foggy just laughed in return before moving over to speak with the desk sergeant for some papers concerning a case or two they were working on.

Matt was quietly laughing at them, his hands resting on his cane as he came to a stop by their side. It was a pleasing sound, Winnie had to admit. She was only more determined to hear it again. "Oh my God, he called you Freddie. Remember in high schoo-" Rebecca began with a bright smile.

"Yes." Winnie tersely cut her off, a scowl replacing her previous smile. "Trust me, I remember."

Rebecca wasn't put off, in fact, she began to giggle happily. "You haven't changed much since high school. I'm really glad I called you… I'm so sorry we haven't kept in touch." Winnie was waving her off, knowing their loss of contact was as much her fault as it was the brunettes. They had simply grown apart, went different directions with the life, and there was nothing wrong with it.

"Don't worry about it; I'm glad you called too." She assured the girl without pause, glad to see the woman smiling after the awful experience she'd just gone through.

"This is the first time you've both spoken since high school?" Matt cut in curiously, eyebrows raised above his red glasses. Surprise colored his voice, prompting a small frown from the smaller blonde.

Rebecca answered quickly, a nostalgic smile on her face. "Oh yeah, it used to be me, her, and Miranda. We were our own little trio, close as could be. Of course, we kind of drifted apart after…" The brunette paused as Winnie stiffened up, as her old friend was nearing a dangerous topic. Quickly, Rebecca recovered from her blunder. "Well, I'm sure you know how it is when some of your friends go off to college and some don't." Matt didn't reply, just smiled softly and nodded his head.

It was harder to tell what he was feeling, since they were in such a crowded place and Winnie was being bombarded with hundreds of different emotions, having to block them all out so she wouldn't be overwhelmed. Winnie wished to touch him, to see what he was really feeling, but decided that it would be inappropriate to grab the man's hand after just meeting him a few hours ago.

Foggy returned from speaking to the desk sergeant, a bundle of files under his arm, and quickly mentioned them returning to the office to discuss the potential charges on Rebecca and what needed to be done. Winnie took it as a chance to leave, since she had been up all night and needed at least a power nap, not too mention the growing feeling of suffocation being in such a busy part of the city.

She grasped Rebecca by the hand, taking a moment to assess the girl's emotional state. Although worry and sadness still coursed through her, she felt safe with the two lawyers and would be fine without Winnie for a couple hours. "I'll head back to your apartment and clean things up for you." The blonde decided, acting as if grabbing her friend's hand had been to get her attention and not the read her emotions.

"Oh no Winnie-"

"No buts," The blonde cut her friend off with a shake of her head, already feeling Rebecca's guilt. "And I'm going to grab some clothes from my place so I can stay over. You shouldn't be alone right now." There was a firmness to her tone that left no room for arguments and Rebecca simply nodded her head in acceptance, secretly relieved by Winnie's offer.

"It might actually be better not to stay there at all." Matt suggested slowly, but Rebecca was quick to shake her head.

The tall brunette seemed to swell up slightly, confidence briefly filling her. "I'm not running away from my own home. It's my apartment, the lease is in my name." Foggy and the blind lawyer shared a look (well, Foggy looked at Matt while the dark-haired lawyer simply cocked his head to the side) before they both nodded. They could tell their client wouldn't leave her apartment no matter what.

"Besides, I'll be there to keep her safe. If that asshole comes around I won't think twice about breaking his stupid face." Winnie assured them with a tight grin, her blood boiling all over again. She absolutely meant it. If Tyler came around, he wouldn't leave unless it was in an ambulance.

"Aaaand as her lawyer I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Foggy declared dryly while Matt tried to hide a smirk. The four of them began to make their way out of the police station, and at the foot of the steps leading to the precinct, Rebecca gave Winnie another tight hug of gratitude.

Winnie had turned away and was about to walk home to her apartment to grab some clothes when Matt's voice stopped her. "Dr. Adalbern?" She turned back around to see he had followed her for a bit, leaving Rebecca and Foggy chatting a few feet away while simultaneously failing to hail a cab.

"Please, Mr. Murdock, Winnie is fine." She always insisted people call her by her first name, as she often told her patients to do so in order to create a more comfortable atmosphere. Matt seemed to appreciate it, as a smile spread across his face. It was still slightly reserved, but Winnie found it rather handsome.

"Then call me Matt. I was hoping we might talk again." He stepped a bit closer, cane lightly tapping on the ground as the distance between them disappeared. "Perhaps over dinner?" The blonde's heart thudded at the offer, surprised and deeply pleased by the man's advances.

Yet, she had a lot going on. Perhaps getting involved with her friend's lawyer wasn't the best plan. "Are you trying to ask me on a date, Mr. Murdock?" The way she purred his last name was absolutely intentional, especially after he had just insisted she call him Matt. Winnie always loved to tease the men she flirted with, as the chase was the majority of the fun. She couldn't just give them everything they wanted, not right away at least.

Matt seemed to pick up on this, because he was quick to give her a taste of her own medicine. "That depends, Dr. Adalbern," He began with a tiny smirk, head cocked ever so slightly to the side. "On whether you plan to say yes."

Winnie let out a breathy laugh, wishing to say yes, but knowing she probably shouldn't. Not yet, at least. "Talk to me when you've won my friend's case." She teased with a small smirk.

"And you'll say yes?"

"And I'll _consider_ saying yes." She countered playfully, idly reaching out to straighten the man's tie, which had become slightly crooked. Matt let out a laugh now, a true laugh that made Winnie's heart pound and a grin spread over her own features. The blonde lowered her hand, preparing to leave things at that, but the brunette lawyer moved fast and grasped her hand before she could.

Through their touch, she could feel him, his hope and curiosity, the edge of his attraction for her, and surprisingly, a small bit of suspicion. Winnie wasn't sure what the suspicion was about but chose to ignore it and focus on Matt's next request, which she also planned to deny. "Since dinner is off the table, for now, how about coffee?" His smile turned playful and Winnie suddenly wished to see his eyes, wondering if they showed the same mirth as his cheeky grin did. "I was hoping to get your _professional_ opinion on Ms. Smith's boyfriend, since you offered."

She hesitated, knowing full and well that she was playing a dangerous game here, but the charming lawyer was hard to resist. Winnie began her reply in a rather serious tone. "I don't really like coffee," Matt's face fell a little, as did his emotions, which she still felt through their joined hands. "But I do love tea."

Without a second thought, Winnie dug through her purse to find a pen to use, keeping a hold of Matt's hand as she did. Finally, she found a suitable pen, which she then used to carefully write her phone number on the back of his hand with. It was only after she finished that she realized he probably wouldn't be able to read her number, let alone put it in his phone. "I guess Foggy will have to help you, uh, use my number and all… okay, this was way cooler in my head." She gave a large sigh, wanting to smack herself in the head. Way to kill the mood, nothing like reminding the hot guy that he was blind and couldn't read the number she had given him.

Matt brightened once he figured out what she had written on his hand before laughing at her awkward statement, undoubtedly knowing she was quite embarrassed despite being unable to see her face. "Don't worry, I think it's cute." He assured her in a teasing tone, giving her hand another squeeze before dropping it. "I'll call you when I get the chance." He assured her smoothly, his playful smirk pulling Winnie in even as he stepped away. "Walk home safe, Dr. Adalbern" Winnie quietly returned the sentiment before the dark-haired lawyer turned around and began to make his way back to Foggy and Rebecca, who had luckily just gotten their cab and not noticed the blind lawyers long absence.

Winnie watched the cab pull away before starting the way home once again, this time with a large smile on her face and warmth spreading through her chest.

* * *

Back at the office, Matt, Foggy, Karen, and Ms. Smith quickly settled in. Their client slowly explained to the two lawyers how the fight happened while Karen recorded the story on a legal pad to review later. Afterwards, they discussed what needed to be done; even though they had managed to get Rebecca released, her boyfriend could still prove to be a problem if he showed up again or decided to try and press charges. To avoid that, the lawyers discussed their options, ranging from Ms. Smith trying to take Tyler Munroe to court or to limit the damage and simply get a restraining order for the time being. The woman, obviously weary from the emotional events of the day, simply asked for some time to think about her options. Matt and Foggy told her it wasn't a problem, they would look into Mr. Munroe and some other options while she went home to rest. After the young brunette left, Foggy was quick to corner Matt in his office, Karen having said something about coffee before stepping out of the room.

"So," He began with an excited smile, curiosity thrumming through him as he took a seat on the edge of his desk. "I noticed you stopped to talk with Winnie before we left." Matt was quietly cursing his luck. Of course, his best friend hadn't missed his talk with the young woman, Foggy had probably been losing cabs on purpose to give Matt more time.

Despite his internal thoughts, the blind lawyer only gave a soft hum in response to his friend's words, casually leaning against the wall as he did so. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Foggy about Winnie, he just didn't want to deal with the 'I told you so's or, possibly, Foggy's judgment. Matt had decided that he would get close to Winnie, but he wouldn't start it off by telling her who he was. There was just too much that could go wrong and although he no longer believed she meant him any harm, he knew she was hiding _something_ important. He had noticed the way Rebecca had slipped up earlier, the way Winnie's heart had started to pound and her muscles went taut. Whatever had caused the girls to grow apart had made the healer very uncomfortable, spiking Matt's curiosity. So, for now, he would simply try to get close to her the old-fashioned way: by being his normal charming self and getting her to open up.

He knew Foggy would stand by him no matter what, but he might not approve at the same time, even if he had given Matt the idea. When Foggy suggested he get close to Winnie, he had the best intentions of Matt finding someone like himself to be honest with. Unfortunately, that wasn't really Matt's plan. He was walking a fine line between right and wrong, he did so every day, but what he was doing with Winnie was different. This wasn't Daredevil playing her for information, this was Matt Murdock, and he wasn't so sure how he felt about it.

He wasn't so sure how he felt about her.

Matt would be lying if he said he wasn't attracted to her on some level. She was witty, a flirt, and a bit dangerous. Matt also liked how she had felt in his arms the night he carried her back to bed, her soft hair brushing against his cheek when she had shifted to lay her head on his shoulder. Yet the blind man had a feeling there were things she didn't tell him, like her vague claims that he couldn't harm her even if he tried. Their fight had haunted him, though not just because of the things she had revealed during the argument. Her fiery temper, which he had only briefly seen before on their first meeting, had flared to life when he had half-heartedly threatened her. Not only was Angel not afraid of him, she had actually threatened him in return! He wasn't used to anyone challenging him, especially tiny women that Matt could easily snap in two, so he had been equal parts annoyed, surprised, and, to his embarrassment, slightly turned on.

Despite how he may or may not feel about her, there was still the chance that she was keeping secrets from him. Granted, Daredevil hadn't told her anything about Matt Murdock - she didn't even know he was blind - so maybe his argument was invalid.

"Matt?" The brunette snapped back to attention when his best friend called his name, using a tone that meant he should have been listening.

Quickly the lawyer turned his head in the direction of Foggy's voice, a slightly guilty smile working its way onto his features. "Sorry, just have a lot on my mind. Especially with this new case." He added the last part innocently, not wanting the other man to know he was actually debating the morality of asking Winnie on a date when he didn't truly trust her. Was it bad to lie to her if she was lying to him? Even if he wasn't a hundred percent sure she was lying? He'd have to debate on it later.

"Mhm," Foggy hummed skeptically, the muscles in his face pulling into what Matt recognized as his 'I'm not swallowing your bullshit' face. "Well if you had been listening, I was offering to add her number into your phone for you. Kind of funny that she wrote it down. Does she just enjoy making blind people struggle or does she see it as some sort of challenge?" He could hear the dry humor in Foggy's voice as the man moved off the desk and held out his hand for Matt's phone, which the brunette handed over. He could actually do it himself, since he could feel the way the ink left numbers across his skin, but it was much easier to just let his friend do it. "Like, 'You can only date me if you're able to read my number'. Weed out the weak ones." Matt snorted softly and shook his head before holding out his hand for Foggy to read the number off of.

"I think she was just a bit caught up in the moment. She's very…" He couldn't find the word, still thinking back to his few encounters with the strange healer. Kind. Blunt. A bit awkward. She used humor to deflect and flirty comments to distract. She had trouble keeping her mind on one thing, always bouncing from one topic to another.

She smiled easily but was scared to let people touch her.

He wasn't sure she even knew she did it, but there had been times today when she had shied away from his and other people's touch. When he had offered his hand and she had moved a step back before taking it, when Foggy had come to stand beside her she casually swayed away, and while in the cab she had pulled in on herself so tightly. Her scent had never show fear, so he knew it had to be some sort of natural reaction, some hard ingrained habit for her avoid touch. He wasn't sure if it had to do with her ability or something else that had happened in her past, but he wanted to know. Especially since she had never shied away from Daredevil.

If Foggy noticed how quiet he had gone, he didn't comment on it. Instead, his close friend returned Matt's phone to his outstretched hand after adding Winnie's number before clapping him on the shoulder. "I know you're still suspicious, don't try to deny it. I'm also not really a fan of you starting a relationship with a handful of lies already under your belt," The blind man felt like sighing at his friend's reproachful words, having fully expected this talk, just not so early. Foggy had, of course, already picked up on the way Matt was avoiding the subject of Winnie and figured it out for himself. Sometimes he wondered how it took so long for his best friend to discover his secret identity when he was able to so accurately dissect everything else Matt did. "But I like Winnie, so I won't try to talk you out of it. If anyone can handle all your crazy, I'd put my money on her." Matt was surprised, he hadn't expected Foggy to give his stamp of approval on the potential relationship. After all, the brunette didn't have the best track record when it came to women and things were a lot more complicated this time around. "Besides myself, of course." The blond added jokingly.

"Oh yeah?" Matt chuckled softly, opening up the door to head back to his own office, feeling slightly relieved to have his friend's grudging approval.

"Yeah, not sure if I ever told you, but I actually minored in 'Crazy Vigilante Best Friend'." Foggy snarked back, the blind lawyer able to read the smile on his face as his friend took a seat behind his desk. The brunette shot his friend a grin, some of the tension leaving his body at the lighthearted conversation. Things had been tense between himself and Foggy ever since his friend discovered his other identity, it was good to see they were getting back to the way they used to be. He was just about to leave the office when Foggy's voice pulled him back. "So you gonna call her?"

The blind lawyer casually switched the phone from hand to hand, pausing a moment at the open door to think. Would he call her? There was so much about her that was uncertain, maybe it would be best if he simply left her alone. If she was a threat, then leaving her alone would keep him safe, and if she really was harmless, then leaving her alone would keep her safe.

Then again, Matt never backed down from a challenge.

"I'll think about it." He replied with a thoughtful smile, leaving the office and traveling across the room to his own workspace. As he sat in his chair he heard Foggy scoff softly and lean back in his seat, the creaking of leather signifying his movement.

"Oh, I'm sure you will, Matty."

* * *

When Rebecca had finally returned from the lawyer's office, Winnie had just finished cleaning up the disastrous living room. She knew it'd be best to clean up the broken glass and put the furniture back in order before her friends return. The brunette needed no reminders of the violent encounter with her boyfriend. Rebecca gave her a soft, tired, smile before pulling the shorter blonde into a tight hug. No words were spoken about what Winnie had done for her today, no amount of thanks would really express her gratitude.

Alternatively, the two women ordered Chinese food and lounged on Rebecca's brown leather couch, telling stories and catching up with each other. Winnie was happy to hear that her brunette friend ended up going to culinary school before taking over her parents bakery, which resided in the small shop below her apartment. The bakery had been run by her grandparents and her mother, since her father had never been in the picture, until Mrs. Smith had sadly passed away only a few years after graduation. The blonde apologized for missing the funeral, as she had been off at college when Rebecca's mother had passed away, but Rebecca assured her that it was alright.

Winnie told her about college and her residential, how she now worked for a small mental health center as a psychologist, though she hoped to one day run her own private practice. She also spoke about her volunteer work at the orphanages and rougher parts of town, acting as a teen counselor for those who couldn't get a social worker to come speak with the kids as often as they needed. Rebecca complimented the blonde for her work, but Winnie simply waved it off. She was only doing what felt right. They also talked about Miranda and agreed the three of them would need to go out together very soon so that their trio could once again be reunited.

After they both finished their food and had cleaned up, Rebecca mentioned heading off to bed. Winnie was quick to agree and began to set up on the couch, since the brunette's apartment lacked a guest room and they were both too tired to search for the air mattress.

"Hey, if you need me for anything, I'll be right here." Winnie reminded her brown-eyed friend, noting the nervous way the woman began to pick at her nails. She probably would have trouble sleeping tonight and Winnie didn't want her friend struggling alone. "You don't have to do this by yourself. That's why I'm here." She reminded her friend gently, reaching out to softly touch her arm in comfort. Rebecca gave a tired smile in return, nodding her head before quietly wishing Winnie a good night.

The blonde lay awake as she stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling, shifting slightly to try and get comfortable on the leather couch. Her mind, unsurprisingly, drifted to her masked man. Although they had ended things on a rather sour note last time, she had still felt bad about just leaving her apartment without any word to him. She had written him a note, explaining she would be staying with a friend for a few days, then left her number in case he was badly enough injured to need to call her. It had been a last minute sort of action, one without much thought, but she didn't regret the spur of the moment decision. Sure, she didn't like Daredevil's obvious distrust after she had done so much to help him, yet she couldn't really hold it against him.

Afterall, Winnie knew he was right to distrust her.

* * *

 **Alright everyone, hope you enjoyed! I will post the next chapter in a few days after I clean it up and then possibly continue to bring the story to some sort of close? We will see, it all depends on the response I get, as well as if college will even allow me the time to type.**

 **Once again big shout out to my biggest fan Ryuno, you have really brightened my days with your lovely words of encouragement. Thank you.**


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